Quantitative Characterization of Sieyal Fault in the Aswan Area, Egypt

The Sieyal fault is in the western desert of Egypt about 100 kilometers southwest of Aswan. The remote location of this fault system makes field study very difficult and expensive. With little to no vegetation cover, geologic units and structures related to this fault are visible in satellite imagery. Using remote sensing techniques and imagery from Google Earth, data regarding fault segment length, orientation, linkage style, and density can be quantified in order to characterize the fault system. Through the analysis of this data, information about the tectonic history of the Egyptian desert may be obtained. Two distinct regions were identified in this study, a western region and an eastern region. The data collected from these two regions showed key differences with respect to linkage style and orientation. These differences are due to a change in stratigraphic units