Highlighting Volcanic Outcrops by Mapping Geological Lineaments Using Satellite Data in the Saka Region, North-East Morocco

Abstract

The Saka region and its environs are situated in the northeastern part of Morocco. This study aims To optimize automated lineament extraction based on the comparing of Landsat-8 optical satellite data with Sentinel-2B for enhanced analysis. The research delves into the structural lineaments within the Saka region, with the objective of advancing our understanding of lineament extraction techniques. Remote sensing techniques are employed to extract and map these lineaments Furthermore, the study seeks to elucidate the distribution and genesis of volcanism in the Saka region and its surroundings in the context of geodynamics. The availability of optical and multispectralremote sensing datasets, including those from Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-2B, characterized by medium and high spatial resolutions, , enhances the efficiency and simplicity of lineament mapping—an essential component of any structural geological investigation. However, due to differences in spatial resolution and sensitivity to land cover. The outcomes derived from these diverse data sources with varying resolutions display variability. The spatial resolution of the images significantly influences the precision and clarity of the retrieved lineaments. The findings underscore a strong correlation between lineament directions (primarily NE-SW, E-W, NW-SE) and faults, which is, correspond to the distribution of volcanic outcrops in the Saka area and its vicinity For validation purposes, the lineaments extracted through directional filtering were compared to manually obtained lineaments, alongside lineaments digitized from the pre-existing neotectonic map (faults) as well as satellite images depicting lineaments in the study area . Density analysis is employed to Investigate the correlation between the concentration of lineaments and the distribution of pre-existing faults . Additionally, the geological map is utilized to refine the correlation between density distribution and the spatial orientations of volcanic rock formations in the study area.

Keywords

• volcanic rocks
• landsat-8oli
• sentinel-2b
• automatic lineament extraction
• mapping lineaments
• saka