A new digital Lithological Map of Italy at 1:100.000 scale for geo-mechanical modelling
Francesco Bucci, Michele Santangelo, Lorenzo Fongo, Massimiliano Alvioli, Mauro Cardinali, Laura Melelli, Ivan Marchesini
Abstract
Abstract. Lithological maps contain information about the different lithotypes cropping out in an area. At variance with geological maps, portraying geologic formations, lithological maps may differ as a function of their purpose. Here, we describe the preparation of a lithological map of Italy at a scale of 1:100,000, obtained from classification of a comprehensive digital database and aimed at describing geo-mechanical properties. We first obtained the full database, containing about 300,000 geo-referenced polygons, from the Italian geological survey. We grouped polygons according to a lithological classification by expert analysis of the original 5,456 unique descriptions of polygons, following compositional and geo-mechanical criteria. The procedure resulted in a lithological map with a legend including 19 classes, and it is linked to a database allowing ready interpretation of the classes in geo-mechanical properties, and amenable to further improvement. The map is mainly intended for statistical and physically based modelling of slope stability assessment, geo-morphological and geo-hydrological modelling. Other possible applications include geo-environmental studies, evaluation of river chemical composition, estimation of raw material resources.