Contribution of gravity data and Sentinel-1 image for structural mapping. Case of Beni Mellal Atlas and Beni Moussa plain (Morocco).

¹ Laboratory of Industrial engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Technics, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, Morocco
² Laboratory of Applied Geophysics, Geotechnics, Engineering Geology and Environment, Mohammadia School of Engineers, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
³ Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
⁴ Ministry of Energy, Mines and sustainable development, Rabat, Morocco
⁵ Oum Er’Rbia Hydraulic Basin Agency, Beni Mellal, Morocco

^* Corresponding Author: i.boutirame@usms.ma

Abstract

The present work is a combined study of gravity and Sentine-1 data for fracture mapping in the karstic massif of Beni Mellal Atlas and the adjacent plain of Beni Moussa. In order to locate the various faults that contribute to the study area structuring, the gravimetric contacts analysis method, based on the joint use of the horizontal gradient and the upward continuation at different altitudes, has been applied to the gravity data. To optimize the structural mapping in the study area, the gravimetric lineaments obtained were completed and correlated with the lineaments got from Sentinel-1 image. Four faults families of NE-SW; E-O; N-S and NWSE directions have been highlighted. There fault families are perfectly combined with the studied area’s surface water network, moreover, they corroborate with the previous geological and structural studies.