Multisensor satellite data for deciphering buried lineament anomalies in Aorounga impact structure, Chad, Africa

Abstract

Deciphering geological phenomena, including planetary evolution, is accomplished by studying Earth’s impact craters. An attempt has been made to identify the buried lineament anomalies using multisensor satellite data in the Aorounga impact structure in Chad, Africa. In order to improve the visibility of buried lineaments, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) coherence, backscatter coefficient, land surface temperature (LST), and digital elevation model (DEM) were processed. The analysis of InSAR coherence data reveals that coherence values are low to moderate in disparate regions encompassed by dune systems with rocks and higher in monotonous areas like dynamic dunes and fractured rock exposures. The results show that backscattering coefficient values of VV and VH polarization decreased in buried lineament regions covered by dunes, whereas high backscattering is experienced in regions encompassed by rocks. It was observed that nighttime has the highest LST in the linear features, whereas daytime LST is found to be low in buried lineaments regions. Thus, in this study, the backscatter coefficient of VH and VV polarization and DEM give promising interpretations to other methods for identifying buried lineament features. The study has demonstrated the potential of multisensor satellite data for identifying buried lineament anomalies that could be potential sources of groundwater, minerals, and hydrothermal activity. These anomalies may also be indicators of tectonic and structural activities.