Preliminary sedimentological investigation of a Holocene lake deposit in the northern Apennines (Italy)

The lake Moo in the northern Apennines, a 0.15 km² basin located at an altitude of 1130 m a.s.l., consists of a small marshy area lying within a portion of a flat semi-circular depression surrounded by steep slopes. The site presents a series of geological and geomorphological characteristics which make it an ideal context to observe the results of flood events on the late Holocene sedimentary record of the basin. Our project aims to establish a relationship between recent deposits, instrumental data and modern-age cartography, in order to obtain site-specific parameters to interpret the sedimentary signal produced by floods on our site. The information can be extended back in time to the millennial scale by analysing sediment cores, in order to observe the frequency and magnitude of flood events throughout the Holocene and assess potential relationships with palaeoclimate reconstructions. This contribution discusses the results from five coring campaigns undertaken between 2018 and 2019 for a total thickness of 10.5 m, which allowed the recording of a c. 500 m long transect stretching from the west slope to the open water on the eastern part of the basin. This extended section enhanced our understanding of the deposit on a larger scale, allowing us to relate the new sequences to the ones identified in previous cores, and develop insights into flood-induced sediment gravity flows and their macroscopic physical characteristics (i.e. grain size, sedimentary structures, Munsell colour and types of contact surfaces). The study has led to the observation of possible correlations between various flood events and Holocene periods.