Journal of Geology & Geophysics
Open Access
ISSN: 2381-8719
ISSN: 2381-8719
Sami OH El Khidir*, Abdalla A Elsheikh, Mohamed Y Abdelgalil, Musab A Hassan and Ali A Mohieldain
This study integrates remotely sensed and fieldwork data around the Atmur-Makhasharaf ophiolite belt in the Nubian Desert, Northern Sudan. The region's harsh, arid, rugged terrain makes spaceborne data highly effective for updating geological mapping and mineral prospecting. The optical multispectral Landsat 8 OLI, Sentinel-2, ASTER, and microwave Sentinel-1 scenes, combined with satellite gravity data, were digitally processed. The fused Landsat 8 OLI/Sentinel-2 data, processed by Decorrelation Stretched (DS), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Band Ratio (BR) transformations, enable lithological unit discrimination. The Sentinel-1 and fused Landsat 8/Sentinel-1 data enhanced structural lineaments and geological boundaries. The W-E and SE-trending dismembered Atmur- Makhasharaf ophiolitic nappes are of Neoproterozoic age, composed of basal ultramafic tectonites (serpentinites, talccarbonate schist) and mafic-ultramafic cumulates. The metavolcanosedimentary sequences overlain by the ophiolitic sequence consist of an immature island arc and are intruded by syn- to late-orogenic and post-orogenic granitic intrusions. The upper cretaceous sandstone formations unconformably overlie the basement rocks, extruded later by Cenozoic basalts. The satellite gravity data indicate that the ophiolites are rootless, thrusted sheets on younger units, and the post-orogenic granites are emplaced in extensional fractures. The ASTER spectral analysis identified two alteration mineral zones enriched in iron oxides, chlorite and dolomite as oxidation and propylitic zones associated with the Atmur and Makhasharaf ophiolites mafic-ultramafic rocks and sheared rocks.
Published Date: 2026-01-20; Received Date: 2025-11-17