Comparative analysis of lineament mapping using Sentinel-1A, Landsat 8 OLI, and ALOS PALSAR for hydrogeological applications in the Moroccan Central Massif

Mapping structural lineaments are crucial for hydrogeological studies, particularly in structurally complex and discontinuous environments such as the Moroccan Central Massif. The use of lineament extraction methods and statistical analyses represents a promising alternative to addressing lineament mapping challenges, surpassing the limitations of classical methods. This study aims to compare multi-source data for automatic and manual lineament extraction. Sentinel-1A, Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI), and ALOS PALSAR data were used for automatic lineament extraction through the LINE module of PCI Geomatica software. Simultaneously, manual extraction was conducted using the RGB color composite of directionally filtered images of Sentinel-2A imagery and a hillshade image generated from the SRTM digital elevation model (DEM). Various image processing techniques and parameters were applied to enhance image quality and emphasize linear features. The identified lineaments, from both automatic and manual extraction, were compared with digitized faults from geological maps of the study area and validated against several criteria, including lithology, orientation, density, hillshade, and fieldwork investigations. Results indicate that lineaments from Landsat 8 OLI images performed best, showing strong correlations with geological faults, capturing 1574 lineaments with an average length of 1822.4 ± 835.2 m. Furthermore, the study highlights the influence of spatial resolution and extraction parameters on the direction, length, and number of extracted lineaments. This research has significant implications for hydrogeological prospection, facilitating the identification of recharge areas, capture zones, and overall groundwater flow dynamics. Thus, it confirms the effectiveness of Landsat 8 OLI data for lineament extraction in the study area.