Paleomagnetic investigations on the Pleistocene lacustrine sequence of Piànico-Sèllere (northern Italy)

The Piànico-Sèllere is a lacustrine succession from northern Italy that records a sequence of climatic transitions across two Pleistocene glacial stages. The intervening interglacial stage is represented by well-preserved varves with calcitic (summer) and clastic (winter) laminae. There is a tight coupling between climate-driven lithologic changes and magnetic susceptibility variations, and stable paleomagnetic components were retrieved from all investigated lithologies including the largely diamagnetic calcite varves. These components were used to delineate a sequence of magnetic polarity reversals that was interpreted as a record of excursions of the Earth's magnetic field. Comparison of the magnetostratigraphic results with previously published data allows discussion of two possible models which have generated controversy regarding the age of the Piànico Formation. The data indicates that the Piànico Formation magnetostratigraphy correlates to geomagnetic field excursions across the Brunhes/Matuyama transition, and consequently the Piànico interglacial correlates to marine isotope stage 19. This correlation option is substantially consistent with K–Ar radiometric age estimates recently obtained from a tephra layer interbedded in the Piànico Formation. The alternative option, considering the Piànico interglacial correlative to marine isotope stage 11 within the Brunhes Chron as supported by tephrochronological dating reported in the literature, is not supported by the magnetostratigraphic results.