A Comparative Analysis of Lineaments Extracted from Landsat 8 OLI & ASTER-GDEM Data, in Talmakent Area, Western High Atlas, Morocco

Abstract

Structural mapping by remote sensing is an essential component to completing the geological mapping of the Talmaknet region. It allows us to understand the regional tectonics of the southernmost segment of the Hercynian of Western Morocco, exploiting Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and satellite imagery processing techniques in order to obtain a good lineament discrimination. To this end, the approach adopted was based on preliminary processing of Landsat 8 OLI satellite imagery combined with a morpho-structural shading analysis technique, using the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and applying several techniques of image enhancement and directional filters to the different treatments to improve the visibility of the linear structures in the images.Given the interesting number of fractions collected, a statistical and directional study was carried out on the synthetic maps to show the distribution and orientation of the lineaments. This analysis indicates a dominant NE-SW oriented geological fracturing, which agrees with the existing geological data in the area, confirming the effectiveness of GIS and remote sensing techniques in structural geology studies, especially to have a detailed mapping of the linear structures in the study area.