Recent tectonic activity of the Gafsa fault through morphometric analysis: Southern Atlas of Tunisia

AbstractThis article focuses on the neotectonics of the southern Atlas of Tunisia based on morphometric analyses. Five major relevant morphometric parameters were processed and analyzed: residual topography, hypsometric index, drainage anomalies, maximum vertical curvature, and terrain roughness, and compared to the structural and tectonics of the study area. These are relevant to describe the topographic changes, and therefore suggest possible neotectonic activity.The analysis of these morphometric indices reveals that two structures in the study area (Jebels Ben Younes and Bou Ramli) are distinguished by a specific morphometric footprint: high residual topography, high hypsometric integral value of some watersheds (HI > 0.6), high frequency of drainage anomalies, high maximum vertical curvature, and high roughness index. The correlation of these geomorphic indices with the structural pattern of the study area confirms the neotectonic reactivation (dating from the Quaternary) and the dextral strike-slip component of the Gafsa fault (the major tectonic feature in the southern Atlas of Tunisia). Thus, the morphometric analysis of the Digital Elevation Model and the drainage network provide a more accurate insight into the morphodynamics of the study area