The contribution of CurvaTool semi-automatic approach in structural and groundwater investigations. A case study in the Main Ethiopian Rift Valley

Abstract

In this study, a semi-automatic approach implemented in the code CurvaTool has been applied to the analysis of the structural asset and its potential relationship with local water distribution in an area of the central sector of the Main Ethiopian Rift Valley. A 30 m SRTM DEM was used as input for CurvaTool code. A first processing was performed over the whole area (about 10,640 km2). Subsequently, a second processing was carried out over a smaller portion of the original DEM, in order to analyze in detail its morphological and structural features. CurvaTool output data show three main linear feature sets, characterized by non-homogeneous distributions, which have been validated by morphological and geological literature data. Concerning the hydrogeological framework, the analysis of water points distribution shows alignments coherent with the trends of linear features extracted by CurvaTool. This correspondence might suggest a structural control on the groundwater flow paths of the analyzed area and highlight the utility of the semi-automatic CurvaTool approach in the preliminary phase of an hydrogeological study in areas where groundwater flow is conditioned by topography and morphotectonic asset, particularly in case of fractured basement aquifer systems in region with lack of geological information or reduced accessibility.