A cyclic vertical succession of alluvial, littoral, and shallow-marine deposits is identified within two continuously cored boreholes (187-S1 and 204-S15) drilled to ∼180 m beneath the present Po coastal plain, in northern Italy. Integrated sedimentologic, micropaleontologic (benthic foraminifers and ostracods), and geochemical studies allow the reconstruction of the paleogeographic evolution of the study area during the late Quaternary, with a special emphasis on major changes in provenance and sediment dispersal patterns.

Transgressive surfaces appear as the most readily identifiable stratigraphic features in the two cores, allowing identification of a series of transgressive-regressive sequences. The transgressive surfaces mark the onset of...