Investigating subsurface structural lineaments of the northwest Ethiopian plateau using gravity data

Abstract

This study provides advanced knowledge of the subsurface structural characteristics of the northwest Ethiopian plateau. With its complex geologic structure, the Northwest Ethiopian plateau is being studied for density boundary mapping using geophysical methods. However, its application to the mapping of geological structures such as faults and contacts which appear as lineaments in gravity data has not been studied so far. Thus, the goal of this research is to increase our understanding of the subsurface structural lineaments and their depth beneath the Ethiopian plateau in the northwest using global gravity model GGMplus2013. These subsurface structural lineaments and their depths were investigated using the LTHG, EHGA, and tilt depth techniques. The results indicate that the main subsurface structural lineaments identified in the study region are dipping between 3.2 and 8 km and are developing in the NE-SW, N–S, E-W, and NW-SE orientations.