Stratigrafia isotopica dell'ossigeno e del carbonio nella sezione Pleistocenica di Valle di Manche (Calabria ionica, Sud Italia) = The planktic stable isotope record of oxygen and carbon in the lower to Middle Pleistocene Valle di Manche section (Ionian Calabria, Southern Italy)

A ca. 20 m-thick interval straddling the Lower-Middle Pleistocene boundary at Valle di Manche (Ionian Calabria, Southern Italy), was investigated by means of stable oxygen and carbon isotope analysis measured on three species of planktonic foraminifera, namely Globigerinoides ruber, Globigerina bulloides and Globorotalia inflata. Independent biomagnetostratigraphic constraints indicate that the studied interval spans from MIS 20 to MIS 18 (ca. 870 to 730 ka). The reconstructed records obtained are in keeping with the benthic curve of Uvigerina peregrina, and show a good match with the Mediterranean Isotope Stack of Lourens (2004). Albeit the lack of previous data prevents a straightforward validation of our results, the coherency between the curve of G. bulloides and the others suggests that the former represents a primary proxy of the isotopic composition of the intermediate water masses