Journal article

Control of cave levels in Kanaan, Kassarat and Jeita karst systems (Central Mount Lebanon, Lebanon)

C Nehme, S Jaillet, C Voisin, J Hellstrom, J Gérard-Adjizian, JJ Delannoy

Zeitschrift Fur Geomorphologie | GEBRUDER BORNTRAEGER | Published : 2016

Abstract

Mount Lebanon is a mountainous Mediterranean karst ridge, consisting of high plateaus reaching 3,088 m altitude and entrenched by deep valleys. Fluvial drainage systems run on a steep gradient and reach the Mediterranean Sea coast in less than 30 km distance. In Central Mount Lebanon, the downstream parts of Antelias and Kalb valleys host the Kanaan cave (160 m), the Kassarat cave (4.6 km) and the Jeita cave (10.05 km), whose subterranean rivers are connected to the karst springs located close to the contact between the Cretaceous aquiclude and the Jurassic karst aquifer. The area thus comprises a dammed Jurassic aquifer in which all the studied cave levels developed at certain altitudes. A ..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by LIBRIS project


Funding Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the financial support from the LIBRIS project (ANR-09-RISK-006) that helped funding the U-Th datings. We would like to thank the support of the ALES (Association Libanaise d'Etudes Speleologiques), Pierre-Charles Gerard and all the members who accompanied us during field trips. We also thank the reviewers for their constructive comments and reviews.