Latest developments

  • New Publication from Mapping Ancient Africa INQUA project
    New Publication from Mapping Ancient Africa INQUA project

    We are pleased to share the latest contribution to the Mapping Ancient Africa Special Issue of Quaternary International. This study provides valuable insights into the past ecological and cultural dynamics at Wonderwerk Cave. New article:…

  • Podcast INQUA 2027 India
    Podcast INQUA 2027 India

    Quaternary is the age when modern recognisable humans started inhabiting this planet. All over the world scientists are engaged in studying various aspects of human evolution. Once every 4 years scientists from all across the…

  • Webinar Series: Climate of the Past 20th Anniversary!
    Webinar Series: Climate of the Past 20th Anniversary!

    Climate of the Past Celebrates 20 Years with Monthly Webinar Series The European Geosciences Union’s open-access, community-driven journal Climate of the Past (CP) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025! To mark the occasion, CP…

  • INQUA 2027 Talk Series
    INQUA 2027 Talk Series

    Join the next INQUA talk featuring “Late Quaternary human response to climate change in southern India” presented by Prof. Ravi Korisettar – NIAS Bengaluru, scheduled for Saturday, 31st May at 11:00 AM IST. Don’t miss…

INQUA 2003my: NEw Procedures and Technologies for UNderwater paleo-landscapE reconstructio (NEPTUNE)

The NEPTUNE project started on March 30th 2020, in the framework of the INQUA CMP commission activities for the purpose of creating an interdisciplinary working group of young scientists aimed at developing multidisciplinary techniques to analyse and reconstruct past landscapes, presently submerged due to the postglacial sea-level rise.

Abstract

The NEPTUNE project is placed in the context of regional and local-scale studies on coastal landscape changes over the last 12 millennia. It reconstructs submerged landscapes both on and offshore, from the nearshore zone to the continental shelf. Such information is crucial to assess the potential impact of relative sea-level rise and to prepare coastal communities threatened by the changing climate for adaptation.

We focus on the Mediterranean basin but welcome researchers working in other geographic areas to provide a broader perspective on the open questions.

In this project, we aim to create a new platform for establishing interdisciplinary trans-Mediterranean scientific collaborations between experts in archaeology, coastal geomorphology, and geoarchaeology and experts in marine surveying, in order to provide optimal integration among geological, archaeological, and modelling methods.

Objectives:

  • a multidisciplinary approach to underwater paleo-landscape reconstruction by means of innovative technologies integrated with well-established methods;
  • a methodological protocol for optimal high-resolution surveying suited to different bathymetric ranges, often corresponding to different time scales.

Project leaders:

  • Gaia Mattei, Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Italy
  • Claudia Caporizzo, Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Italy
  • Ana Novak, Geological Survey of Slovenia, Slovenia
  • Martin Seeliger, Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Greifswald, Germany
  • Livio Ronchi, University of Padova, Italy