A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
The Bisri dam project: A dam on the seismogenic Roum fault, Lebanon
Abstract The Roum fault is a fault branch of the Dead Sea Transform Fault within the Lebanese Restraining Bend. It is an active seismogenic fault that was associated with the 1 January 1837 (Ms 7.1) earthquake, and whose extent has been the subject of great controversy within the restraining bend. In this paper, the Roum fault is revisited after a dam project (the Bisri dam) has been planned in one of the fault's most critical locations, i.e. in the Bisri valley that hosted the epicenter of the 16 March 1956 (ML 5.8) earthquake. The fault and its associated structures in the proposed dam area are discussed, and highlights on the dam site are made as a geologically complex and tectonically active area. The future water body behind the planned Bisri dam will overlie an active fault, with huge potential for fault movement underneath the dam footprint, liquefaction around the dam foundations, mass movements near the dam site, and direct effect on inducing seismicity on a delicate fault system that can potentially trigger a major earthquake that can affect the whole Lebanon and its surroundings. This requires special attention and in-depth considerations especially of the potential of reservoir-induced/triggered seismicity on the seismogenic Roum fault, and makes of the Bisri area a very unfavorable site for the proposed Bisri dam in Lebanon.
Highlights The Roum fault is an active fault correlated with the 1837 (Ms 7.1) earthquake. The Bisri dam is planned in a location that correlates with the 1956 earthquake. The future Bisri lake can have direct effect on inducing and triggering seismicity. The Bisri valley is a very unfavorable site for the proposed Bisri dam in Lebanon.
The Bisri dam project: A dam on the seismogenic Roum fault, Lebanon
Abstract The Roum fault is a fault branch of the Dead Sea Transform Fault within the Lebanese Restraining Bend. It is an active seismogenic fault that was associated with the 1 January 1837 (Ms 7.1) earthquake, and whose extent has been the subject of great controversy within the restraining bend. In this paper, the Roum fault is revisited after a dam project (the Bisri dam) has been planned in one of the fault's most critical locations, i.e. in the Bisri valley that hosted the epicenter of the 16 March 1956 (ML 5.8) earthquake. The fault and its associated structures in the proposed dam area are discussed, and highlights on the dam site are made as a geologically complex and tectonically active area. The future water body behind the planned Bisri dam will overlie an active fault, with huge potential for fault movement underneath the dam footprint, liquefaction around the dam foundations, mass movements near the dam site, and direct effect on inducing seismicity on a delicate fault system that can potentially trigger a major earthquake that can affect the whole Lebanon and its surroundings. This requires special attention and in-depth considerations especially of the potential of reservoir-induced/triggered seismicity on the seismogenic Roum fault, and makes of the Bisri area a very unfavorable site for the proposed Bisri dam in Lebanon.
Highlights The Roum fault is an active fault correlated with the 1837 (Ms 7.1) earthquake. The Bisri dam is planned in a location that correlates with the 1956 earthquake. The future Bisri lake can have direct effect on inducing and triggering seismicity. The Bisri valley is a very unfavorable site for the proposed Bisri dam in Lebanon.
The Bisri dam project: A dam on the seismogenic Roum fault, Lebanon
Nemer, Tony S. (author)
Engineering Geology ; 261
2019-08-22
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Stress Drop, Seismogenic Index and Fault Cohesion of Fluid-Induced Earthquakes
| Online Contents | 2021
Beaufort Castle, Lebanon; conservation versus restoration project
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 2008