Geomatics-based assessment of the neotectonic landscape evolution along the tebessa-morsott-youkous collapsed basin, Algeria

Abstract

The neo-tectonic research is interested in the study of the movements of Earth’s crust in recent geological times. It could explain the deformation mechanisms that lead to the structuring of drainage catchments. The Morsott-Tebessa-Youkous (Chabro) collapsed basin corresponds to a subsiding depression framed by brittle structures and filled with thick deposits. Our work aims to unveil the neo-tectonic activity and reconstruct the morphometric evolution of the landscape and the drainage network of the basin. For this task, our investigation applies a quantitative analysis of geomorphic indices extracted from the DEM of the study area. We used a GIS-based approach to compile seven morphometric factors namely Integral Hypsometry (HI), the Sinuosity of mountain fronts (Smf), the Valley Floor width to height ratio (VF), the Asymmetry Factor (AF), Basin Shape index (BS), and the topography (T). All these thematic parameters were processed in a Geo-database to calculate the study area’s Relative Tectonic Activity Index (IRAT) as a result. The IRAT map was categorized into three classes. The result highlighted the distribution of relative tectonic activity in the region and unveiled some unknown faults. It associated the sinuosity of rivers and the deformation of the substratum with active tectonic anomalies. This research work succeeded in drawing up a new scheme of the neo-tectonic activity and morpho-structural evolution in the collapsed basin.