Remote sensing applications in the Fars Region of the Zagros Mountains of Iran

The Zagros Mountains in Iran are an active fold-and-thrust belt that contains world-class examples of folding and salt tectonics. The Fars Region is an excellent location for testing remote sensing methods and applications of satellite data due to its dry climate and superb exposure of geological features. Recent advances in satellite technology and image acquisition have resulted in high-quality global datasets at increasing resolution that provide a highly valuable source of data for structural analysis of fold-and-thrust belts. Oblique lineaments like the Razak Line in eastern Fars can be identified by changes in the dimensions of anticlines, presence of deflected folds, offsets in the alignment of structures, location of anticlinal plunges and exposures of salt. Drainage analysis can show propagation and coalescence of anticlines. We review several methods using optical data, digital elevation models and interferometric synthetic-aperture radar. We integrate those methods and generate detailed geological maps, structural cross-sections, identify structural steps and hidden basement features, and compare to seismological data and their effect on the exposed geology.