Remote sensing applications for delineating paleochannels close to archaeological sites

Marwa Chendeb El Rai*, Mina Al-Saad, Nour Aburaed, Saeed Al Mansoori, Hussain Al Ahmad

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalConference article

Abstract

Based on the recent archaeological discoveries in the middle east, the collected data prove that such sites in arid regions were subject to a more humid climate. The presence of water sources, including nearby rivers, was necessary to the ancient society to settle and develop civilization. Saruq Al-Hadid is an archaeological site located in the southern border of Dubai - UAE in active dune fields. After its discovery in 2002, thousands of artifacts were revealed on site and opened up numerous queries regarding human activity and local civilizations from the Neolithic period to the Bronze and Iron Ages. This paper studies the capacity of remote sensing to delineate paleochannels close to Saruq Al-Hadid archaeological site in order to have a better understanding of the related society. Our palaeochannels mapping is based on using the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (STRM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Advanced Land Observing Satellite-phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (ALOS PALSAR) images. The latter is used due to its capability to penetrate the sand layers and to reflect on the buried structures. The method eight-direction (D8) flow model is applied on DEM data to automatically extract the drainage patterns and the water's natural flow direction. The results are compared visually to the features obtained from PALSAR images to determine whether these patterns are similar.

Original languageEnglish
JournalProceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC
Volume2020-October
Publication statusPublished - 31 Oct 2020
Event71st International Astronautical Congress - Virtual
Duration: 12 Oct 202014 Oct 2020
Conference number: 71
https://www.iafastro.org/events/iac/iac-2020/

Keywords

  • Alos Palsar
  • paleochannel
  • remote sensing
  • Saruq Al Hadid

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