Quantitative Structural Analysis using Remote Sensing Data (Kurdistan, NE Iraq)

Abstract

With the increasing quality and resolution of digital elevation models (DEM) and with the enormous advantage of the almost global coverage and free availability of such data, mapping of threedimensional information from true-to-scale, three-dimensional images provides an efficient and accurate alternative to stereoscopic mapping using aerial photographs and satellite images. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the integration of regional to outcrop digital data can be used to visualize three-dimensional multi-scale structural geological models. Following these ideas, we present here a practical application of a newly developed add-on tool (PlaneTrace) for the software WinGeol. This allows interactive mapping, visualization and calculation of the spatial orientations of planar surfaces from digital elevation models. The strength of this tool is that the geological feature is traced by a virtual transparent plane, which allows visual approximation of the planar structure. The accuracy of the PlaneTrace tool has been tested in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt (Kurdistan, NE Iraq) by comparing computed bedding orientation with field data.