The Adriatic Sea (Fig.1) shows two margin configurations, north and south of the Gargano Promontory ([Ridente and Trincardi(2005)] and references therein).
The Central area is characterized by the Mid Adriatic Deep (MAD), 260 m depth, separated in 2 depocenters by the Central Adriatic deformation belt [Argnani and Frugoni(1997)], and is bordered to the south by the Gallignani and Pelagosa (Palagruza) ridges and by the structural high of the Tremiti Islands, toward the Italian coast.
The Southern area [Argnani et al.(2006)] is characterized sub-circular depression, more than 1200 m deep (Southern Adriatic Deep, SAD), located between the coasts of Puglia, to the west, and Albania, Montenegro and Croatia to the east, being the current foredeep of the Albanide fold-and-thrust belt ([De Alteriis (1995)], [Argnani et al.(1996)], [Bertotti et al.(2001)]). The Mesozoic paleogeography of the Adriatic controlled the current tectonic setting of this region, and several deformational features affecting the recentmost sediments can be related to the inherited palaeotopography. The western slope, which is adjacent to the low relief Apulian foreland, is characterised by a relatively reduced sediment supply. Tectonic and seismic activity are limited or absent over most of Puglia, with Gargano being the only exception ([De'Dominiciis and Mazzoldi (1987)], [Argnani et al.(1993)], [De Alteriis and Aiello (1993)]). A complex deformation system, the Gondola Fault, dissects the shelf and slope ([Morelli (2002)], [Fracassi et al.(2008)], [Ridente et al.(2008)] and references therein).
Large mass-wasting deposits and large-scale incisions are present along the margin and are related to the glacio-eustatic fluctuations during the Quaternary. During the Middle-Upper Pleistocene, margin progradation was accomplished by thick regressive units, the most widespread failure event affected the margin during the MIS 2 glacial interval[Minisini et al.(2006)]. The Bari canyon is the result of multiple and repeated mass wasting and slope failure that carved deeply incised scarps at the shelf edge [Ridente et al.(2007)]. The area is also impacted by dense waters cascades and currents, which interact and modify the relief and depositional system ([Bignami et al.(1990,a)], [Bignami et al. (1990,b)], [Trincardi et al.(2007,a)], [Trincardi et al.(2007,b)], [Canals et al.(2009)]).