Computer processing of satellite data for geostructural zoning of a collisional boundary, significance and field checks: The example of Tunisia

A great amount of data on brittle and plastic deformations of large areas can be obtained by remote sensed images. In order to establish the best fit between type of image and computer processing of the obtainable data, the paper describes the results of Landsat and Seasat SAR analyses over Tunisia combined with statistical elaboration of the geostructural data. The procedure leads to an automatic structural zoning map which has been checked with a field survey map. The paper then details the significant information collected about the width of the areas involved in the various deformational phases developed in geological times. Finally through comparison of the remote sensed data with those seismological and microtectonlc, the study offers proof of the effectiveness of using satellite images for special geologic applications like stress and deformation propagations in the continents regarding the plate‐tectonic theory