This study presents the first detailed investigation of the petrography, mineralogy, and depositional environment of Messinian gypsum lithofacies outcropping on the western side of the Crati Basin (Calabria, Southern Italy), focusing on three sections: Castelluccio, Striscioli, and Piretto. The different localities preserve in situ gypsum accumulation (laminar gypsum and gypsiferous mudstone) and clastic gypsum deposits (nodular, gypsarenite and gypsrudite) formed during the second stage (5.60–5.55 Ma) of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). Observation and analyses of macro-, meso- and nanoscale reveal a complex climatic variability and depositional history that reflect different environmental conditions, from shallow-water evaporitic environments to deep basin settings affected by slope failures. The data highlights the influence of tectonic activity on facies distribution within the basin. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of climatic and geological controls on gypsum deposition, offering a detailed interpretation of the Crati Basin’s evaporitic history and contributing to the broader understanding of Mediterranean Messinian evaporites.

Coralligenous bioconstructions are biogenic calcareous structures characterized by low accretion rate and high sensitivity to natural and anthropogenic impacts. Assessing their ecological quality and health status requires non-destructive approaches. In the project “FISR 2019_CRESCIBLUREEF”, a ROV-based coring device has been developed to collect samples while ensuring minimal impact on the ecological and structural integrity of bioconstructions and overcoming scuba diving depth and safety constraints. This study evaluates whether fragments retrieved by the device are representative of whole coralligenous build-ups (“tal-quale”) for geobiological characterization at the microscale. Representativeness is assessed through (i) preservation of microfacies textures and framework integrity in thin sections and (ii) relative abundances of skeletal and non-skeletal carbonate components quantified by point-counting. The results suggested that a coring device represents a powerful tool for obtaining representative bioconstruction samples at least in terms of the relationships and distribution between different carbonate components. This innovative approach opens new frontiers in the study of bioconstructed habitats, allowing the collection of samples suitable for qualitative and quantitative analyses while preserving ecosystem integrity. It therefore represents a step toward in sustainable marine research, with great potential for monitoring, conservation, and management of benthic habitats.

Seabed mapping represents a very useful tool for seascape characterization and benthic habitat study and requires advanced technologies for acquiring, processing, and interpreting remote data. Particularly, acoustic instruments, such as high-resolution swath bathymetry sounders (i.e., multibeam echosounder: MBES), allow us to recognize, identify, and map the extension of benthic habitats without applying invasive mechanical procedures. Bathymetry and backscatter (BS) data are crucial to perform modern habitat mapping. Although the acquisition and processing of bathymetric data follow standardized procedure (e.g., Hydrographic Organization guidelines), and recent studies have proposed recommendations for backscatter acquisition and processing, a broadly validated methodological approach, integrating geomorphometric analysis for benthic habitat mapping, is still lacking. In this work, a new approach for benthic habitat mapping, with a focus on coralligenous bioconstructions, was developed using the open-source software QGIS. This methodology, tested within the Isola Capo Rizzuto Marine Protected Area (Calabria, Italy), is designed to be freely reproducible by researchers working in the field of marine ecosystem monitoring and conservation. Through the proposed mapping procedure, it is possible to (i) identify benthic habitats in selected study areas by combining bathymetry and BS data with geomorphological indices performed in QGIS and (ii) quantitatively define the 2D and 3D distribution of coralligenous bioconstructions in terms of surface covered, thickness, and volume. Moreover, the statistical analysis of quantitative morphometric data allowed for comparison of geometric characteristics of different coralligenous morphotypes. The obtained results, combined with improvement of minimally invasive sampling and geobiological–geochemical characterization, can contribute to the development of protocols aimed at monitoring marine bioconstructed ecosystems, many of which are protected by national and international regulations due to their importance for Mediterranean biodiversity preservation, and plan actions for their protection and persistence.

Seabed mapping represents a very useful tool for seascape characterization and benthic habitat study, and requires advanced technologies for acquiring, processing and interpreting remote data. Particularly, acoustic instruments, such as high-resolution swath bathymetry sounder (i.e., Multibeam Echosounder: MBES), allows to recognize, identify and map the extension of benthic habitats without applying invasive mechanical procedures. Bathymetry and backscatter (BS) data are crucial to perform modern habitat mapping, however they require careful end-product development and, to date, no standardized procedure exists. In this work, a protocol for benthic habitat mapping, with focus on coralligenous bioconstructions, was developed using the open-source software QGIS. This protocol, tested within the Isola Capo Rizzuto Marine Protected Area (Calabria, Italy), is designed to be freely reproducible by researchers working in the field of marine ecosystem monitoring and conservation. Through the proposed mapping procedure, it is possible to: i) identify benthic habitats on selected study areas by combining bathymetry and BS data with geomorphological indices performed in QGIS; ii) quantitatively define the 2D and 3D distribution of coralligenous bioconstructions in terms of surface covered, thickness and volume. Moreover, the statistical analysis of quantitative morphometric data allowed for comparison of geometric characteristics of different coralligenous morphotypes. The obtained results, combined with improvement of minimally invasive sampling and geobiological–geochemical characterization, can contribute to the development of protocols aimed at monitoring marine bioconstructed ecosystems, many of which protected by national and international regulations due to their importance for Mediterranean biodiversity preservation, and plan actions for their protection and persistence.