Lithological mapping and automatic lineament extraction using Aster and Gdem data in the Imini-Ounilla-Asfalou district, South High Atlas of Marrakech, Morocco

Lithological and lineament mapping using remote sensing is a fundamental step in various geological studies, as it forms the basis for the interpretation and validation of the results obtained. There were two objectives for this study, applied in the Imini-Ounilla-Asfalou district, South High Atlas of Marrakech region: first, lithological mapping by satellite image processing techniques such as ASTER L1B (hight spectral and spatial resolution), namely Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF), as well as the application of three types of supervised classification, namely Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM), Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Minimum Distance (MD), on the visible/near-infrared (VNIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectral bands of our ASTER image; second, an analysis of the distribution of lineaments by automatic extraction using a Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) and the PC1 image derived from the PCA transformation applied to the satellite image. The best results are highlighted by the delineation of new facies in relation to the existing map; after confirmation in the field, all of these facies, which include Eocene, Triassic and Jurassic formations, are represented on the new map. The results of lineaments showed that each of them systematically shows a similarity in terms of concentration and orientation, with four preferential oriented systems: NE-SW, E-W, NNE-SSW and NW-SE. The lineaments mainly follow those of the major fault zones, with high concentrations in the northeast and southwest parts of the study area.