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 language | English |
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Journal | Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC |
Volume | 2020-October |
Publication status | Published - 31 Oct 2020 |
Event | 71st International Astronautical Congress - Virtual Duration: 12 Oct 2020 → 14 Oct 2020 Conference number: 71 https://www.iafastro.org/events/iac/iac-2020/ |
Keywords
- Alos Palsar
- paleochannel
- remote sensing
- Saruq Al Hadid