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Digital surface geology map of Beirut and suburbs (Lebanon)

The surface geology in the city of Beirut (Lebanon) is very complex and highly variable at small distances. The last attempt to identify geological soil units and plot a map of surface geology was proposed by Dubertret in 1945. A significant portion of the western side of the city is dominated by Quaternary red sandy soils and dune sandstone. The red sand likely originated from weathered and eroded sandstone, resulting in the well-known “Terre Rouge” red sands in Beirut (Dubertret, 1945; Bedran, 1997). Recent alluvial deposits can be found in various areas of the city, covering the sandy layer.


These superficial alluvial soils are present in the Downtown district, along the Beirut River, and in the northern-eastern suburbs. On the eastern side of the city, alongside the recent alluvial deposits, occasional red sands containing pebbles and cobbles can be observed near the Beirut river banks and in a narrowing coastal plain towards the south. The eastern-southern parts of Greater Beirut are mainly dominated by Jurassic units consisting of cretaceous sandstone and clayey sandy limestone.

Simple

Date (Publication)
2023-12-21
Citation identifier
https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geonetwork?uuid=780ce2dc-9762-4b53-8048-fb144384dbab
Code
10.23708/780ce2dc-9762-4b53-8048-fb144384dbab
Point of contact
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

UMR ISTerre - CNRS, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel - France

Youssef, Eliane

eliane.youssef@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Author

UMR ISTerre - CNRS, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel - France

Cornou, Cécile

Author

Scientific Research Center in Engineering (CSRI), Faculty of Engineering, Lebanese University - Lebanon

Youssef Abdel Massih, Dalia

Author

Scientific Research Center in Engineering (CSRI), Faculty of Engineering, Lebanese University - Lebanon

Al-Bittar, Tamara

Author

UMR ISTerre - CNRS, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel - France

Youssef, Eliane

eliane.youssef@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Point of contact
Maintenance and update frequency
Not planned

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

  • Geology

Continents, countries, sea regions of the world.

  • Lebanon

Keywords
  • Geotechnical Engineering

  • Geology

Use constraints
License
Other constraints
License: CC-BY
Spatial representation type
Vector
Language
English
Topic category
  • Geoscientific information
  • Location
N
S
E
W
thumbnail


Supplemental Information

The map of surface geology proposed in Dubertret (1945) was extensively used in recent years for research and engineering construction purposes, without any published attempt to digitize the map. For this reason and to acquire precise boundaries for the different geological soil units covering Greater Beirut, the Dubertret geology map was digitized in the context of Eliane Youssef PhD thesis.

Note here that this exercise was limited to the area of interest encompassing Beirut city and some main suburbs (Bourj Hammoud, Jdeideh, Baouchrieh, Sin el Fil, Dekwaneh, Furn el Chebbak).


UMR ISTerre


Grant information:

IRD - ARTS program

Lebanese University

University of Grenoble Alpes


References:

Bedran, M. (1997). A Geographically Referenced Model of the Beirut Metropolitan Region (BMR) Incorporating Pertinent Geotechnical Properties. Master’s Thesis, Civil and Environmental Engineering Program, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, 1997.


Dubertret, L. (1945). Géologie du site de Beyrouth avec carte géologique au 1/20.000 et 9 planches (56 pages). Délégation Générale de France au Levant, Section géologique, Beyrouth.

Reference system identifier
EPSG:32636
Distribution format
Name Version

SHP

1

Distributor contact
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

DataSuds-geo

Publisher
OnLine resource
Protocol Linkage Name
OGC:WFS https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/isterre_ws/wfs

isterre_ws:BEY_geology_original

OGC:WMS https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/isterre_ws/wms

BEY_geology_original

OGC:WMS https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/isterre_ws/wms

Geology_original_FIGURE3

FILE:RASTER https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/ows?service=WCS&version=2.0.1&request=GetCoverage&coverageId=Geology_original_FIGURE3

Beirut geology

OGC:WMS https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/isterre_ws/wms

Geology_simplified_FIGURE4

FILE:RASTER https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/ows?service=WCS&version=2.0.1&request=GetCoverage&coverageId=Geology_simplified_FIGURE4

Beirut geology (simplified)

OGC:WMS https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/isterre_ws/wms

Alluvium_original

FILE:RASTER https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/ows?service=WCS&version=2.0.1&request=GetCoverage&coverageId=Alluvium_original

Alluvium

OGC:WMS https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/isterre_ws/wms

Limestone_original

FILE:RASTER https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/ows?service=WCS&version=2.0.1&request=GetCoverage&coverageId=Limestone_original

Limestone

OGC:WMS https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/isterre_ws/wms

Sand_original

FILE:RASTER https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/ows?service=WCS&version=2.0.1&request=GetCoverage&coverageId=Sand_original

Sand

OGC:WMS https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/isterre_ws/wms

IMPORTED_DATA_FIGURE2

FILE:RASTER https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geoserver/ows?service=WCS&version=2.0.1&request=GetCoverage&coverageId=IMPORTED_DATA_FIGURE2

Imported data

WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geonetwork/umr_isterre/api/records/780ce2dc-9762-4b53-8048-fb144384dbab/attachments/GEOL_ORIGINAL_UTM_FIGURE1.pdf

GEOL_ORIGINAL_UTM_FIGURE1.pdf

WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geonetwork/umr_isterre/api/records/780ce2dc-9762-4b53-8048-fb144384dbab/attachments/README_Digitalization_Beirut_geology_map.pdf

README_Digitalization_Beirut_geology_map.pdf

WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geonetwork/umr_isterre/api/records/780ce2dc-9762-4b53-8048-fb144384dbab/attachments/BEY_geology_original.csv

BEY_geology_original.csv

WWW:LINK-1.0-http--related https://datasuds-geo.ird.fr/geonetwork/umr_isterre/fre/catalog.search#/metadata/780ce2dc-9762-4b53-8048-fb144384dbab

Related publication

WWW:LINK-1.0-http--related

https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggu294

Reference publication

OnLine resource
Protocol Linkage Name

DOI

https://doi.org/10.23708/780ce2dc-9762-4b53-8048-fb144384dbab

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

Hierarchy level
Dataset

Conformance result

Date (Publication)
2010-12-08
Explanation

See the referenced specification

Statement

To perform this task, first, the map of Dubertret (1945) was imported as an image file format to a plot digitizer software (WebPlotDigitizer) allowing to extract the lateral extents of the different soil units covering the area between [Xmin = 727000; Ymin = 3747000] to [Xmax = 738000; Ymax = 3756000] in WGS84 Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates (zone 36N).


This work resulted in sets of surface data points sampling the different geological units in the area through different colors to delimit the boundaries between the soil units. The data points were then imported to the QGIS software in order to map the interfaces and retrieve the corresponding shapefiles. Mapping the lateral interfaces between the soil units required a great manual effort to build an accurate map while applying some modifications from updated satellite images Google Earth and USGS topographic data.


Note here that the sandy cover in the western and southern sides of the city was extended throughout the whole area following the simplified surface geology proposed in Salloum et al. (2014). After this task, the map was again simplified in order to avoid any complex geometries and highly heterogeneous geologic features. The resulting shapefiles for the original and simplified geology maps of Beirut are transferred to an electronic material.

Metadata

File identifier
780ce2dc-9762-4b53-8048-fb144384dbab XML
Metadata language
English
Character set
UTF8
Hierarchy level
Dataset
Date stamp
2024-01-18T09:12:42.405341Z
Metadata standard name

ISO 19115/19139

Metadata standard version

1.0

Metadata author
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

UMR ISTerre - CNRS, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, IRD, Univ. Gustave Eiffel - France

Youssef, Eliane

eliane.youssef@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Originator
 
 

Overviews

overview
GEOL_ORIGINAL_UTM_FIGURE1.png

Spatial extent

N
S
E
W
thumbnail


Keywords

Geology Geotechnical Engineering
GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
Geology

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