Combined use of remote sensing and GIS in the extraction of structural lineaments in the cretaceous basin of errachidia-boudnib (South-east Morocco), hydrological implication

Abstract

Linear analysis is an interesting approach for hydrogeological mapping in the Cretaceous basin of Errachidia-Boudnib, this analysis was carried out by interpreting the ETM + images acquired by the Landsat 7 satellite. In our study, features of geological interest detected during the interpretation process were digitized using GIS software. Before extraction begins, various processes are applied to the satellite image. Lineament synthesis maps have been produced by combining four methods; filtering techniques that allow mapping a larger number of lineaments, color compositions, ratio bands and main component analysis (PCA) and lineamenst density, so the highest densities obtained are oriented (NE-SW to ESE-WNW). In the study area, the knowledge of structural lineaments is very interesting for identifying zones favourable to groundwater circulation. A spatial statistical analysis of the lineaments was performed to detect their frequency and main direction.