MAPPING THE BROAD BASEMENT STRUCTURAL LINEAMENTS, USING THE TILT ANGLE DERIVATIVES OF THE SATELLITE GRAVITY DATA AT THE VICINITY OF OWEINAT AREA, SOUTH WESTERN DESERT, EGYPT

The main objective of this research is to delineate the subsurface structural lineaments, through applying some edge detection techniques on the available satellite gravity data in the study area. Satellite gravity data were used in the current study aiming to mapping of the general structural elements (faults) that govern the geometry of the studied area. And the latter was used in modeling the subsurface geological structures.
Most short wavelength anomalies, due to different density contrasts, may represent near subsurface features. Some geophysical interpretive techniques can be used to improve the detection of such edge features. Among such techniques are the horizontal and vertical gradients of the measured potential fields. Many edge detection techniques, such as the analytical signal, total horizontal derivative of the tilt angle, and the normalized horizontal derivative, can be used as well. Most of these methods agree in identifying such structural trends of the subsurface causative sources and their relative horizontal locations. However, the edge detection resolution decreases as the causative body’s depth increases.
Some of these techniques were applied for the detection of the basement structures within El-Oweinat and the nearby areas, Southwestern region, Egypt. The application of these methods on the available gravity data exhibited predominantly NNE-SSE, NW-SE, nearly E-W and NNW-SSE structural trends.