Structural lineament mapping in a sub-tropical region using Landsat-8/SRTM data: a case study of Deng-Deng area in Eastern Cameroon

The main goal of this research is to examine the capabilities of Landsat-8 and SRTM remote sensing data for regional scale structural mapping in a sub-tropical region. It is all about suppressing vegetation reflectance in order to optimize the geological mapping of the Deng-Deng area, Eastern Cameroon. The Crippen and Blom’s algorithm were implemented for vegetation reflectance removing; principal component analysis (PCA), spatial filtering, and shaded relief were performed for lineament extraction. Geostatistical approach is used to analyse the spatial distribution of highlighted fractures. Fracture sets are defined using statistical characterization of fracture orientation and genetic parameters. Detailed analysis of the overall structures led to the identification of two major networks corresponding to dextral and sinistral shear zones mainly oriented NE–SW. Field investigations show that the area has recorded structures such as metamorphic foliation, boudins, mylonitic foliation, S-C fabrics and fractures, organized into three phases of deformation D1 to D3 and geological formations include intrusive granite in a metamorphic basement (garnet-biotite gneiss and amphibolite). Remote sensing results are consistent with field data. Hence, the remote sensing approach developed here is expected to be broadly applicable for identifying regional scale structural features using Landsat-8 and SRTM in other sub-tropical regions around the world.