OSL chronology of Quaternary terraced deposits outcropping between Mt. Etna volcano and the Catania Plain (Sicily, southern Italy)

In this paper we tested the applicability of the Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) techniquethrough Single-Aliquot Regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol, on single grain quartz extracted fromalluvial–coastal sediments. Five samples were collected from deposits belonging to a flight of seven ordersof coastal–alluvial terraces outcropping in the area between Mt. Etna volcano and the Catania Plain (Sicily,southern Italy), at the front of the Sicilian fold and thrust system. After various performance tests, weobtained OSL ages ranging between 240 ± 12 and 80 ± 4 ka, consistent with the normal evolutionarymodel of a terraced sequence, moving from the highest to the lowest elevation. Obtained data allowedus to determine a mean uplift rate of 1.2 mm/year during the last 240 ka, mostly related to regional upliftprocesses coupled with sea-level changes. Moreover, terraces belonging to the two highest orders arefolded, forming a large anticline. According to our results, the frontal thrust of the Sicilian chain was activebetween 236 and 197 ka ago, even though seismological and geodetic data suggest current activity to theback.