New geological map data for Düsseldorf and adjacent areas (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)

Geological mapping in the vicinity of Düsseldorf, Germany, has been carried out systematically for over 100 years, starting with a mapping campaign by the Prussian Geological Survey in the 1920s. Today, geological mapping is performed by the Geological Survey of North Rhine-Westphalia and published at a scale of 1 : 50 000. In addition, 3D models are created from the collected data and all data are made available to the public via online portals free of charge.

We present new geological map data for the surface and at major sedimentary hiatuses for Düsseldorf and adjacent areas. The map of the surface geology allows a detailed representation of Pleistocene to Holocene sedimentary processes. While fluvial sediments of the Rhine River predominate in the Rhenish lowlands, the hilly landscape of the Bergisches Land is widely characterized by aeolian sediments of the Quaternary cold phases. The geological map of the pre-Quaternary surface provides a detailed depiction of Oligocene marine sedimentation. The geology of the top of the pre-Permian bedrock depicts marine to paralic sedimentation in the Devonian and Carboniferous. Furthermore, it clearly shows the tectonic structures that were created during Variscan orogenic folding and post-orogenic normal faulting. In addition to these map layers, cross sections were created for depths of up to 3000 meters. A spacing of only 2 km between these cross sections allows detailed three-dimensional imaging of the subsurface.