Structural mapping and interpretation of lineaments related to the In Teria volcanism (southeastern Algeria) using Landsat 8 OLI TIRS images and aeromagnetic data

Abstract

The In Teria region is located South-East of Algeria, in the North-East of the Illizi basin. Generally, this area is recognized as a volcanic region with circular craters controlled by faults. In this research, structural lineaments were extracted using aeromagnetic data and satellite images (Landsat 8 OLI TIRS), and the direction of distribution of volcanic craters was analyzed by the center-to-center method. The mains observations show, at different structural levels, the following results: 1- the directions of the surface lineaments are E-W, WNW-ESE and ENE-WSW while those of crustal scale are N–S, E-W, NNW-SSE to NW-SE. 2- The volcanic craters are located at the intersection of these two directions (E-W and NW-SE) with the N–S lineaments. Some of these directions are linked to a reactivation of Pan-African mega-shear zones (N–S, NW-SE to NNW-SSE) during the Cenozoic, and some others (NW-SE and NNW-SSE) had already been reactivated during the Cretaceous rifting. 3- The depth estimation methods used thanks to Euler deconvolution and Tilt derivative showed, for the first time, the presence of magnetic anomalies related to magmatic bodies at a shallow depth of 2.5–3 km. The spectral analysis method gave a depth of more than 11 km for the deep sources. 4- The depth of the basement estimated by 2D forward modeling according to an N–S profile which passes through the outcrop zone of the craters, varies from 200 to 6000 m. All these data and new results presented in this work helped to highlight on the dynamics of In Teria's volcanism and to derive an updated structural mapping of this volcanic region.