Scholars' Mine Masters Theses Student Theses and Dissertations Spring 2014 Development of structural basins and domes on the Sinn El- Kaddab Plateau, Egypt: insights from in situ data and application of moderate resolution orbital imagery of the Seiyal Fault Thomas J. Jerris Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses Part of the Geology Commons, and the Geophysics and Seismology Commons Department: Recommended Citation Jerris, Thomas J., "Development of structural basins and domes on the Sinn El-Kaddab Plateau, Egypt: insights from in situ data and application of moderate resolution orbital imagery of the Seiyal Fault" (2014). Masters Theses. 7249. https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses/7249 This thesis is brought to you by Scholars' Mine, a service of the Missouri S&T Library and Learning Resources. This work is protected by U. S. Copyright Law. Unauthorized use including reproduction for redistribution requires the permission of the copyright holder. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DEVELOPMENT OF STRUCTURAL BASINS AND DOMES ON THE SINN EL-KADDAB PLATEAU, EGYPT: INSIGHTS FROM IN SITU DATA AND APPLICATION OF MODERATE RESOLUTION ORBITAL IMAGERY OF THE SEIYAL FAULT By THOMAS J. JERRIS A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2014 Approved by: Mohamed G. Abdelsalam, Advisor John P. Hogan, Co-Advisor Cheryl Seeger, Committee Member © 2014 Thomas J. Jerris All Rights Reserved DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the late Dr. Jeffrey Spooner, an original member of my research committee and colleague at the United States Geological Survey in Rolla, Missouri. iv ABSTRACT The Seiyal Fault, one of many east-west trending faults located in the Western Desert of Egypt, and associated structural basins and domes are investigated using remote sensing imagery and field studies. Analysis of Shuttle Reconnaissance Topography Mission data, multi-spectral data from the Landsat Thematic Mapper (LM), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectometer (ASTER) data, and imagery from Google Earth. Band combinations 3- 2-1 and 7-4-2 in ETM+ and 3N-2-1 and 7-3-1 in ASTER, and Google Earth provided the most useful images for geologic mapping. The Seiyal Fault is best characterized as a zone comprised of multiple, straight to curvilinear, left-stepping en-echelon, fault segments that over-lap or intersect and can be traced for at least 100 km in length. Field studies of structural basins and domes cross-cut by the trace of the Seiyal Fault record a component of normal dip-slip down-to-the-north displacement. Locally, the trace of the fault is marked by polished cataclasite, a scarp within Tertiary gravel pediment (also down-to- the-north), and by the presence of sand-filled ground cracks. The low-relief basin and dome structures may have formed in regions of transpression (domes) and transtension (basins) created by the bends and step-overs along the trace of the fault zone. These observations are consistent with the Seiyal Fault Zone recording time-integrated strain beginning as early as with the deposition of Cretaceous sandstones and continuing to the present, as a result of multiple displacement events in response to changes in the orientation of the principal regional stresses over time. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Mohamed G. Abdelsalam for his guidance, supervision, and patience throughout this whole project. Professor Abdelsalam provided the opportunity to conduct this geologic research with the added benefit of a new cultural experience and exchange with students and faculty from Egypt. From Egypt, I thank Dr. Abdel-Aziz Al-Haddad of Sohag University for his warm welcome and introduction to the geology of the Egypt’s Western Desert, and Dr. Elhamy Tarabees of the University of Damanhour for his organization, participation, dedication, and friendships he helped develop between the Missouri University of Science and Technology and Egyptian students from Sohag University and University of Damanhour. I would like to thank the following people from Missouri University of Science and Technology: Dr. John P. Hogan, for his encouragement, patience, and guidance in the field conducting this investigation and keeping me on track; Gina Callaway and Mark Dunseith who provided assistance in the field; Leslie Lansbery, Hanadi Al-Doukhi, Carrie Bender, Amed Elsheikkh, David Bridges, Elamin Ismail, Nawwaf Almuntshry, Scott Medley, and Trevor Boleman for their encouragement and input for this project. Lastly, I would like to thank the Department of Geological Science and Engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, and the financial support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE), the International Research Experience for Students (IRES), for without their support and opportunity, this research would not be possible. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………….v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS……………………………………………...…………….viii LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………..…ix SECTIONS 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ...................................................................... 1 1.2. OBJECTIVES ......................................................................................................... 2 2. METHODS................................................................................................................... 4 3. GEOLOGICAL SETTING AND STRATIGRAPHY ................................................. 6 3.1. GEOLOGIC SETTING ........................................................................................... 6 3.2. STRATIGRAPHY ................................................................................................... 9 3.2.1. Nubia Formation. ............................................................................................. 9 3.2.2. Dakhla Formation. ......................................................................................... 11 3.2.3. Kurkur Formation. ......................................................................................... 12 3.2.4. Garra Formation. ............................................................................................ 13 3.2.5. Dungul Formation. ......................................................................................... 14 3.2.6. Tertiary and Quaternary Conglomerate and Gravel Sheets. .......................... 15 4. SEISMICITY ............................................................................................................. 17 4.1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND .......................................................................... 17 4.2. REGIONAL SEISMICITY ................................................................................... 18 4.3. LOCAL SEISMICITY .......................................................................................... 20 5. REMOTE SENSING DATA AND ANALYSIS ....................................................... 22 5.1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 22 5.2. REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS………………………………………………...22 5.2.1. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). ................................................ 23 5.2.2. Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) ................................... 23 vii 5.2.3. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectometer (ASTER). ..... 24 5.2.4. Google™ Earth. ............................................................................................. 26 5.3. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE REMOTE SENSING DATA 27 5.3.1. SRTM. ............................................................................................................ 27 5.3.2. Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+). .................................. 29 5.3.3. ASTER. .......................................................................................................... 31 5.3.4. GoogleTMEarth….…………………………………………………………...33 6. STRUCTURAL DATA AND ANALYSIS ............................................................... 36 6.1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 36 6.2. STRUCTURE 1: A BASIN .................................................................................. 37 6.3. STRUCTURE 2: A DOME .................................................................................. 40 6.4. STRUCTURE 3: A DOME ................................................................................... 42 7. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................ 45 8. CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................ 48 APPENDIX ................................................................................................................ 50 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 60 VITA .........................................................................................................................