Geomorphological Characteristics of the Continental Shelf Adjacent to the Jifarah Plain Region in Libya Using Geomatics Techniques

Abstract

This study aims to highlight the geomorphological characteristics of the continental shelf adjacent to the coast of the Jifarah Plain region in Libya. It seeks to identify its geomorphological features and produce a geomorphological map of the submerged forms covering its seabed, based on bathymetric data (GEBCO_2024). The study concludes that the geomorphological features of the study area were shaped by a combination of factors, foremost among them the tectonic movements that formed the Western Mountain Highlands, along with episodes of marine transgression and regression throughout geological epochs. The continental shelf is characterized by a geomorphological landscape free of major topographic complexities. It extends from the 0-meter depth contour (the coastline) to the 200-meter depth contour, with an average depth of 104 meters, and gently slopes toward the continental slope at an average gradient of 0.2 degrees. The seabed of the continental shelf is covered with a variety of submerged geomorphological features differing in extent and size, such as sand shoals, hills, plateaus, basins, and canyons. Sand shoals, which appear in the form of plains, ripples, and sandy banks, cover approximately 92% of the shelf area. These formations give the seabed of the study area its undulating appearance, which closely resembles the geomorphological nature of the adjacent mainland (Jifarah Plain) in terms of low relief, gentle gradient, and the types of geomorphological features covering both areas.