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Geospatial technology and structural analysis for geological mapping and

tectonic evolution of Feiran–Solaf metamorphic complex, South Sinai, Egypt

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DOI: 10.1007/s12517-013-0959-5

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Arab J Geosci
DOI 10.1007/s12517-013-0959-5
ORIGINAL PAPER
Geospatial technology and structural analysis for geological
mapping and tectonic evolution of Feiran–Solaf metamorphic
complex, South Sinai, Egypt
Mohamed O. Arnous & Yasser M. Sultan
Received: 16 February 2013 / Accepted: 23 April 2013
# Saudi Society for Geosciences 2013
Abstract The Sinai Peninsula constitutes an important dis-
trict of the Egyptian lands where it forms a triangular por-
tion in northeastern Egypt. The southern Sinai metamorphic
complexes are the northern uppermost part of the Arabian–
Nubian Shield revealing the upper and middle crust from the
East African Orogeny, in which they tectonically evolved.
The Feiran–Solaf metamorphic complex (FSMC) of Sinai,
Egypt is one of the highest grades metamorphic complexes
of a series of basement domes that trends NW and crops out
throughout the Arabian–Nubian Shield. The main aim of the
present study is to apply the geospatial technology and to
represent the capability of the geospatial technology to
estimate the combined influence of lithology and structure
studies, and to construct the lithological and structural maps
of FSMC. Furthermore, detailed structural analysis is car-
ried out to reveal the different ductile and brittle deforma-
tional events and proposed the tectonic evolutionary model
for the study area. Mainly geospatial technology and struc-
tural analysis software have been used to go well with the
aim of the present study. Developing specific image pro-
cessing of satellite images and structural analysis were
succeeded to discriminate the various lithological rock units,
and the geological structural features of the FSMC, using
M. O. Arnous (*)
Geology Department, Faculty of Science,
Suez Canal University, 41522, Ismailia, Egypt
e-mail: arnous_72@yahoo.com
e-mail: mohamed.arnous@science.suez.edu.eg
Y. M. Sultan
Geology Department, Faculty of Science,
Port Said University, Port Said, Egypt
e-mail: ymsultan@sci.psu.edu.eg
geographic information system tools to construct the differ-
ent thematic maps, were extracted. The present detailed
investigations of the enhanced satellite images, structural
analysis, and field verification reveal that the FSMC reached
its present tectonic setting through more than four deforma-
tional phases concluding that the Pan-African Najd Fault
System continued in Sinai and was reactivated during Red
Sea tectonics as indicated by the dextral shear zone (Rihba)
bordering the northern side of the FSMC.
Keywords Remote sensing . GIS . Tectonic deformation .
Image processing . Tectonic model
Introduction
The Sinai Peninsula constitutes an important district of the
Egyptian lands where it forms a triangular portion in northeastern
Egypt. The southern portion of the Sinai Peninsula is occupied
by the uplifted mountains of the Pan-African basement complex
while the Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks cover the middle and
the northern parts. Furthermore, the Arabian–Nubian Shield
forms one of the largest exposures of juvenile continental crust
on earth, comprising ∼3×106 km2 (Bentor 1985). The shield
evolved during the Neoproterozoic East African orogeny (900–
550 Ma), and is generally viewed as a collage of juvenile
volcanic arc terranes and ophiolite remnants that were amalgam-
ated during the assembly of the eastern part of Gondwana
(Bentor 1985; Stern 1994, 2002; Stein and Goldstein 1996;
Jarrar et al. 2003; Meert 2003; Stoeser and Frost 2006). The
tectonic evolution of the Sinai Peninsula is consistent with that of
the northern Eastern Desert as they exhibit extensional-related
tectonic fabric intruded by extensive plutonic, volcanic, and dyke
swarms between 800 and 530 Ma (e.g., Bielski 1982; Halpern

and Tristan 1981; Kröner et al. 1990, 1994; Moghazi et al. 1998).
The unmetamorphosed igneous rock assemblages in Sinai rep-
resent ∼70 % of the total basement exposure and largely com-
posed of granitoids rocks with minor occurrences of gabbros and
volcanic. The granitoids were divided to (1) syn- to late-orogenic
I type and (2) post-orogenic A type; the transition
between the two types occurred at ∼610–600 Ma
(Beyth et al. 1994; Stern 1994; Garfunkel 1999; Jarrar
et al. 2003; Moussa et al. 2008). The recognition of a
widespread high-K calc–alkaline suite, formed at about
the time of this transition and partially overlapping the
beginning of alkaline A type magmatism (Be’eri Shlevin
et al. 2009), redefines the different stages of calc–alkaline
magma production in this region.
Compression-related structures are recorded within the
metamorphic complexes which underwent polyphase defor-
mation and metamorphism, ranging in grade from greenschist
to upper amphibolites facies, comprising two groups based on
structural, metamorphic, compositional, and geochronological
data into: (1) the high-metamorphic basal complexes includ-
ing the Feiran–Solaf metamorphic complex (FSMC) and the
Taba metamorphic complex and (2) the low-grade complexes
including the Sa’al–Zaghra metamorphic complex and the
Kid metamorphic complex.
Geospatial technology generally refers to the science and
the tools used to acquire, store, analyze, and output data in
two or three dimensions, referenced to the earth by some
type of real-world coordinate system (e.g., a map projec-
tion). The ability to reference a geographic location is an
important component in analyses of effects or trends in
biological and physical resources. Geospatial technology
tools include geographic information systems (GIS), remote
sensing (RS), thematic mapping, image processing, satellite
positioning systems such as the Global Positioning System
(GPS), and telemetry (USGS 1998). Earth science investi-
gations using geospatial technologies are commonplace
(Bishop and Shroder 2004; Hengl and Reuter 2009;
Bishop et al. 2012). The rapid proliferation of geospatial
technologies includes advances in geodesy, photogramme-
try, geophysics, computer science, statistics, RS, and GIS, to
mention just a few. The three related tools of RS, GPS, and
GIS combine the sciences of cartography and spatial analy-
sis with new techniques to support a wide range of the
geological and environmental applications. Geological map-
ping, considered one of the geospatial applications in which
the process of geologic mapping, either on the surface or
underground, creates new geologic data and knowledge that
contributes to earth information science, from which in-
sights can be drawn now and in the future. Also, geological
maps with their subsequent derivative are considered to be
the most reliable geospatial technology information having
immense economical and societal value. A geological map
and structural analysis provides information not only on the
Arab J Geosci
distribution and thickness of individual rock units but it also
reveals the relationship among strata and structures which
provide insight to many aspect; for example, mineral poten-
tial and tectonic evolution. Today, acquiring geological in-
formation has been greatly assisted by RS and GIS tools as
lots of works have already been documented by the field
measurements and verification. Analysis and integration of
multidisciplinary geospatial data is becoming an advanced
tool to ameliorate the geosciences knowledge. The problems
in the traditional geological mapping like limited exposed
outcrop, extensive regolith, and vegetation cover and subtle
changes in geological features caused mapping largely
based on the geological inference. In integrated approach,
however, the information in each dataset is analyzed sepa-
rately and finally integrated to resolve the uncertainties and
geological inferences. In integrated geological mapping, the
individual data layer is brought with different spectral and
spatial resolutions that enable to extract more information
and even to map subtle variations in geological feature;
when integrated, they are particularly useful (Singh and
Dowerah 2010; Arnous 2011; Bahiru 2011; Arnous and
Green 2011; Acharya and Mallik 2012). Multispectral im-
age enhancement and analysis techniques in the field of
geologic RS has proved to be a potential technique for the
information extraction process. The number of image anal-
ysis techniques are evolved and applied for optimization of
information extraction process in the SFMC area for litho-
logical and structural mapping.
The main objective of the present study is to apply
the geospatial technology and to represent the capability
of the RS data and GIS techniques to estimate the
combined influence of lithology and structure studies;
to construct the lithological and structural maps of
FSMC; and, in addition to, carry out detailed structural
analysis to reveal the different ductile and brittle defor-
mational events. The style of folding and shear sense
indicators could be used in detecting stress regime.
Eventually, the tectonic evolutionary model for the study area
would be proposed.
Study area
The FSMC is a NW-trending elongate complex, ∼40 km
long and 5–11 km wide (Fig. 1), and bounded by latitude
28°35′11″ and 28°48′50″N and longitudes 33°49′36″ and
33°28′24″E, covering a surface of about 270 km2. The FSC
is made up of migmatitic biotite and hornblende gneisses,
quartozofeldspathic gneisses, and hornblende gneisses with
subordinate amphibolites and calc silicate rocks. The com-
plex was intruded and surrounded by a number of granitic
plutons, including syn- to posttectonic granitoids, diorite,
and large volumes of NE-trending dykes with mafic to felsic
Arab J Geosci
Fig. 1 Physiographic map of
the investigated FSMC
composition. These intrusions obliterate all the structural
relationships along the margins of the complex. The north-
western part of the complex is covered by Phanerozoic
sedimentary rocks.
The investigated area is traversed by many wadis, most
of which are structurally controlled, where they are more or
less concomitant with the observed fault line. These wadis
are represented from northwest to southeast such as wadi
(W.) W. Ager, W. Soreif, W. Gebari, W. Agala, W. Aleiyat,
W. Akhdar, W. Ratam, W. Um-Takha, W. Dehisa, and W.
Rimm. The FSMC is a conspicuous rugged terrain, espe-
cially at the northern and southern parts such as Gabal (G.)
Serbal (the highest peak; 2,070 m), G. Sarabil (1,679 m), G.
Banat (1,538 m), G. Goza (1,280 m), G. Ahmar (1,323 m),
G. Orabi (1,258 m), G. Um Tar (1,326 m), and G. Taktakat
(1,551 m; Fig. 1).
Climatically, the region is typically arid, precipitation is
scarce and random, and temperatures are high during most
of the year. The little rain that does occur falls in winter
when temperatures are relatively low. The distribution of the
scant precipitation appears to be mainly controlled by
topography.
Geological setting
The complex has been classified by El-Gaby and Ahmed
(1980) into five formations including 11 members of 28
principal rock types. The complex was reclassified by
Ahmed (1981) into five formations and nine members of nine
principal rock types. During the present study, it was difficult
to delineate the boundaries of some formations and members.
The metamorphic facies differ from place to place within the
entire gneisses. The complex can be divided into two zones:
the Feiran zone (FZ) in the northwest and the Solaf zone (SZ)
in the southeast (El-Shafei 1998). These two zones are sepa-
rated by a NE-trending diorite intrusion (Fig. 2). The Feiran
zone contains migmatitic biotite and hornblende gneisses,
hornblende gneisses, quartozofeldspathic gneisses, and local-
ly some dolerites. In contrast, the gneisses have mapable
portions of calc–silicate rocks (Fig. 2). The field relations
and descriptions of the different metamorphic rocks are given:
Amphibolite Amphibolite occurs as inclusions, bands, and
elongated bodies of variable thickness and irregular lenses
(Fig. 3a). El-Tokhi (1992) suggested an igneous origin for the

Fig. 2 Geologic map of
FSMC, (modified after Ahmed
(1970), El-Gaby and Ahmed
(1980), Hegazi (1988), El-
Shafei (1998), Khalil (1998),
and Khalil and McClay (2001))
completed from processed
ETM+ 7 image and field
investigation
amphibolites based on chemical evidence. He suggested
that this orthoamphibolite was derived from magma essen-
tially of tholeiitic rather than alkaline composition, transi-
tional in character between continental and island arc.
Orthoamphibolite inclusions are recorded in the different
metamorphic rock units and also in the syntectonic gran-
itoids; some of them are massive hard relics (Fig. 3a),
whereas others are foliated or sheared relics. They are
fine- to medium-grained, massive, and grayish green to
black in color.
Migmatized gneissic complex A migmatized gneiss com-
plex forms the core of the Feiran antiform outcropping along
W. Feiran (Fig. 2). This complex is about 10 km long and
2 km wide, and includes dioritic, tonalitic, granodioritic, and
Arab J Geosci
granitic orthogneiss, intercalated with banded hornblende–
biotite gneiss of probable metapelitic origin. The migmatitic
paragneisses show compositional banding on the millimeter
to centimeter scale, defined by alternation of coarse-grained
leucosomes and medium- to fine-grained mesosomes. The
migmatites can be easily differentiated in the field and
separated into two separate rock units, including granitic
and trondhjemitic migmatites, and constitute the area be-
tween W. Aleiyat and W. Tarr (Fig. 3b). Further west, the
migmatites occur at the exposed base of the metamorphic
sequence. No migmatized rocks are recorded in the Solaf
zone.
Hornblende biotite gneiss Hornblende biotite gneisses are
widely distributed all over the area occupying the western
Arab J Geosci
Fig. 3 Different types of the common metamorphic rocks and the
associated granitoid rocks in the entire FSMC. a Massive amphibolites
xenoliths in biotite gneiss, W. El-Sheikh. b Leucosome and melano-
some of migmatitic paragneisses, Feiran oasis. c Hornblende biotite
side and part of the eastern side of FZ (Fig. 2); other-
wise, it is intercalated and interlayered with the biotite
and the quartzofeldspathic gneisses (Fig. 3c, d). Field
relations clearly show that the hornblende biotite gneiss
is older than the biotite gneiss in the area under investi-
gation, in which relics of hornblende biotite gneiss are
found inside the biotite gneiss. The hornblende biotite
gneiss is fine- to medium-grained, strongly foliated, and
dark colored.
Biotite gneiss Biotite gneiss is brownish gray in color, fine-
to medium-grained with pronounced foliation, and their
outcrops occupy the core of Solaf anticline and the eastern
side of Feiran zone along W. Nefuz (Fig. 2). They are
intercalated with hornblende biotite gneiss and interlayered
with quartzofeldspathic gneiss (Fig. 3d). Biotite gneiss be-
comes rich in garnet and cordierite near the contact with the
syntectonic granitoids, while the hornblende biotite gneisses
become rich in diopside. This may be due to the effect of the
gneiss (Hb), note G. Mein (G) at the end of W. Nefuz. d Folded
hornblende biotite gneiss interlayered with biotite gneiss, W. Um
Takha
thermal metamorphism during the emplacement of the
plutonic rocks.
Biotite and hornblende–biotite and local quartzofeldspathic
gneisses Biotite and hornblende biotite, and local
quartzofeldspathic gneiss crop out at the south eastern
part of the complex bounding by W. Um Takha and W.
Solaf (Fig. 2) and dominate the closure of a large
anticline (Fig. 4a). They are fine-grained and of a medium
metamorphic grade. They have experienced thermal and dy-
namic metamorphism, which gave rise to granulitic varieties,
which are more massive than the lower-grade varieties.
Quartzofeldspathic gneiss Quartzofeldspathic gneiss is
characterized by light whitish–red and grayish to reddish color
(Fig. 2). It is fine- to medium-grained in some places. It also
shows clear banding, small-scale step faults, and small-scale
open folds. The quartzofeldspathic gneiss bounded the SZ and
the eastern side of FZ and is interlayered in some places with

Fig. 4 Different types of the metamorphic rocks and the associated
granitoid rocks in the entire FSMC. a Biotite and hornblende biotite
gneiss and local quartozo-feldspathic gneiss (a), Quartozo-feldspathic
gneiss (b). Note the granitic rocks of G. Sarabil in the background (c).
the biotite gneiss and the hornblende biotite gneisses (Fig. 4a),
and is generally cut by numerous pegmatite veins.
Calc–silicates, quartzite, and metavolcanics Calc–silicates
are the youngest rock unit in the metamorphic succession.
They occur as bands of mappable size along the northeast-
ern flank of W. Solaf and bounded from the eastern side by
the granitoids (Fig. 2); originally, they are formed by impure
limestones which suffered thermal metamorphism and have
undergone calcium-rich metasomatism (Hegazi 1988). They
display different mesoscopic structures and contain garnet
crystals of relatively larger size (Fig. 4b). Calc–silicates are
fine-grained, massive, and with a light green color. They
show distinctive banded structures produced by the alterna-
tion of white and dark green bands characterized by distinct
vitreous luster.
Quartzite occurs as several small exposures in W. Rimm
and between W. El-Deheisa and W. Dehiset Abu Taleb.
Arab J Geosci
b Dextral sense of shear in calc silicate rocks, W. Deheiset Abu Taleb. c
Meladiorite body intruded by numbers of dykes. d Metamorphic xe-
noliths within tonalite, W. Deheiset Abu Taleb
Likewise, metavolcanic rocks are recorded at two localities;
one to the southeast at the contact with the granitoid rocks
and characterized by fine-grained, light to green color, and
with low-grade metamorphic facies. The second location is
close to the junction of W. Solaf near W. Rimm. The rocks at
this exposure are characterized by leucocratic color, fine
grain, hard, banded, and have high specific gravity.
Meladiorite The meladiorite forms an elongated intrusion
trending NE–SW (Fig. 2). This rock may represent large
relics of a dioritic, gabbroic, or amphibolite parent rock as
indicated by the common dark, fine-grained xenolithes
engulfed in it. On the other hand, meladiorite is fine-
grained in its outer margin and becomes coarse-grained in
its central parts. It does not show any foliation planes but it
is dissected by numbers of dykes (Fig. 4c). The meladiorite
body may be considered an old intrusion which has been
developed along NE–SW extensional fractures.
Arab J Geosci
Calc–alkaline granitoids
(A) Gray granodiorite–tonalite–quartz diorite association These
rocks intrude on the south and east borders of the Solaf zone
(Fig. 2). They extend further east, forming numerous low
relief hills drained by branches of the main W. El-Sheikh.
They are also dissected by dyke swarms and characterized
by many xenoliths of amphibolites and hornblende biotite
gneisses, particularly near the southern contact with the
metamorphic complex. This granitoids association belongs
to the gray granite of Hume (1935), older granitoids of El-
Ramly and Akaad (1960), syn-orogenic plutonites of El-
Shazly (1964), syntectonic tonalite–granodiorite–adamellite
group of Sabet (1972), and syn-orogenic granitoids of El-
Gaby (1975).
(B) White granodiorite White granodiorite outcrops at the
upstream end of W. Um-Takha where it is intruded by the
alkali red granites of G. Serbal (Figs. 1 and 2). Small out-
crops also occur in contact with calc silicates of W. Deheiset
Abu Taleb and at the upstream end of W. Agala. These rocks
are massive, hard, and dissected by rhyolitic and andesitic
dykes. They show gneissic textures and contain xenoliths of
hornblende biotite gneiss along the eastern contact with the
metamorphic units of W. Um-Takha.
Post-alkaline granites Post-alkaline granites from huge
mountainous are outcrops bordering the complex units and
the syntectonic granitoids. They are represented by G. Mein
and G. Tarboush alkali granite, the quartz syenite of G. Goza
and G. Banat, and the serbal granites (Figs. 1 and 2). These
rocks are characterized by reddish color and absence of dyke
swarms that are recorded within the early plutonic phases.
These rocks are equivalent to late- and post-tectonic
Gatterian granites of the Eastern Desert (Sabet 1972; Sabet
et al. 1976a) and the younger granites of El-Ramly and
Akaad (1960).
Dykes The FSMC and the surrounding plutonic rocks are
cut by NE-trending mafic and felsic dyke swarms of
Pan-African age (591±9 Ma; Stern and Manton 1987).
The mafic dykes are the most abundant and widespread
(El-Sayed 2006). The dykes occur in closely parallel sets
forming swarms. They are not equally distributed in the
various basement rocks. Generally, the dykes are straight
indicating that they have been apparently emplaced along
sharply defined fractures (Helba 1989; El-Sayed 2006).
Based on the RS and field investigations and cross-
cutting relations between the different dyke varieties,
the mafic and felsic dykes are contemporaneous
(Figs. 2 and 4c).
Metamorphism Several authors have observed that meta-
morphism in the FSMC appears to increase towards the core
of the structure, i.e., towards deeper structural levels. In the
migmatitic biotite and hornblende gneisses, the metamor-
phic grade is reported to have reached upper amphibolite
facies conditions from 640 to 700 °C at pressure from 4 to
5 kbar during the Pan-African Orogeny (e.g., Eliwa et al.
2008). A zircon age derived by Stern and Manton (1987)
suggests 632±3 Ma for the high-grade migmatitic event. A
K–Ar biotite cooling age (Eliwa et al. 2008) suggests 617–
594 Ma as the time of cooling and exhumation. As noted by
Abu Alam and Stüwe (2009), the peak metamorphism was
interpreted as an event syn- or just post-first generation of
tectonic structures (D1). This interpretation was in agree-
ment with the observations of Fowler and Hassan (2008) in
the Feiran complex.
Materials and methods
The methodological development over the study area aims
to discriminate the various lithological rock units and extract
the geological structural features of the metamorphic belt
complex, develop specific image processing for discrimina-
tion of the FSMC area, and use GIS tools to construct the
different thematic maps. Mainly, ERDAS Imagine, Arc GIS
and Arc INFO, and WorkWare 14 are the structural analysis
software used to suit with the aims of the study. The current
study used several materials, methods, and mapping tech-
niques as discussed below.
RS data are represented in a Landsat ETM+ 7 imagery
dated 2000 for Path 175/Row 40. The image is cloud free. It
was used for digital analyses to extract thematic information
from the digital image. The image was geometrically
corrected to a UTM zone 36 north and WGS84 datum.
Landsat ETM+ 7 has a multispectral RS data. These data
have 16 days temporal resolution and spatial resolution, 30
and 15 m for multispectral and panchromatic bands, respec-
tively. The main purpose was to discriminate the lithological
units and extracted the structural lineaments of the study
area.
The ASTER GDEM (GDEM 30 m spatial resolution)
elevation data, which was acquired in 2000 have been used
to generate terrain analysis and extract structural lineaments.
In addition, the IKONOS satellite images were downloaded
using Google Earth Pro program. The IKONOS images are
given good aspects of relief and texture of the rocks in
addition to discrimination of the rock units based on color
difference, while ETM+ 7 images allow confirmation of
rock type discrimination based also on color difference.

The IKONOS images are used as base maps for detailed
fieldworks investigation particularly to verify the geological
contacts depending on enhanced ETM+ 7 interpretation and
checking the structures derived from the ETM+ 7 and
IKONOS images.
Georeference data, including the topographic sheets cov-
ering the study area at scale 1:50,000, were utilized for
registration of satellite data and selection of ground control
points. Also, the geological maps of the study area are those
published from the Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining
Authority and other ancillary geological published data.
Tabular data, including the field measurements of the
geological structural and analysis, and other ancillary de-
scriptive geological data are also published. The results have
been verified with field investigations. Many field trips were
done to acquire a good knowledge about the extent of each
rock unit in this study to help in verifying the RS results and
structural measurements.
During field work, the lithological descriptions and struc-
tural measurements were collected at about all observation
points. Surveyed GPS was used in this level for the study
area through field verification for determination of the lith-
ological contacts and spatial determination of structural
data. Enhanced satellite data was calibrated by field data
and then combined to prepare the digital geological map of
the area. Lithological units were digitally processed within
the ARC GIS software. The digital divisions in terms of
polygon and vector type of lithological units and structural
measurements were introduced to GIS system to produce
topological relationship. Then, the data was converted to the
shape file format and introduced to generate digital geolog-
ical and structural maps of the area. The relationships were
established in the three formations (X, Y, and Z sections)
between the lithounits and geological structural features. On
the other hand, the results were compared with other pub-
lished ancillary geological maps of the study area.
In the current study, different image processing modules
have implemented to help in the interpretation of the study
area, including: true and false color composite (bands 3, 2,
and 1 in RGB) and (bands 7, 4, and 2 in RGB), respectively;
and several data enhancement techniques were employed in
this analysis, with both univariate and multivariate statistics
used to reduce redundancies in the data for all the visible
and infrared bands.
These methods include:
Principal component analysis
Images generated by digital data from various wavelength
bands often appear similar and convey essentially the same
information. Principal component analysis (PCA) is a tech-
nique for reducing correlation between variables and com-
monly produces images with separate geologic features
Arab J Geosci
(Sabins 1997; Gibson and Power 2000; Jensen 2004;
Schott 2007). Principal and canonical component transfor-
mations are two techniques designed to reduce such redun-
dancy in multispectral data (Lillesand et al. 2004). PCA is
often used as a method of data compression by which most
of the information contained in the original data will be
transformed into the first few principal components. The
direction of the first PC is the first eigenvalue. The second
PC is orthogonal to the first principal component. It de-
scribes the largest amount of variance in the data that is
not already described by the first PC. According to Sabin
(1997), the important geological information might occupy
only a small portion of the spectral range of a band that is
otherwise highly correlated with other bands; it is possible
that such information will be lost through one of these other
bands that have been chosen instead. Also, PCA in which
one can use either the standard or selective analysis, the
difference being that in the later, only certain bands are
chosen (Crosta and Moore 1989). This technique indicates
whether the materials are represented by bright or dark
pixels based on the sign and magnitude of the eigenvectors.
It is a linear procedure to find the direction in input space
where most of the energy of the input lies. In the present
study, the Landsat Principal Component color composite
image of FSMC area is generated from highly loaded fourth
principal component (PC4), third principal component
(PC3), and second principal component (PC2) and
displayed in red, green, and blue, respectively, to help in
the discrimination of the rock units exposed in each FSMC
area.
Band ratio images
A simple way of extracting useful information from Landsat
ETM+ 7 imagery is to perform band ratioing. Band ratios
describe the color of an object, although this color only
corresponds to human perception when the three visible
bands are considered. Ratio images are prepared by dividing
the digital number (DN) in one band by the corresponding
DN in another band for each pixel, followed by stretching
the resulting values and plotting the new values as an image
(Sabins 1997). In other words, the ratio images were pre-
pared simply by dividing the DN value of each pixel in one
band by the DN value of the other band (Drury 2001).
Rationing is an effective method for distinguishing among
rock types because the main spectral differences in the
visible and near-infrared spectral regions are found in the
slopes of the reflectivity curves. Absorption bands are board
and weak and are difficult to use for discrimination of rock
types on standard multispectral images. In addition, the
ratioing process removes first-order brightness effects
caused by topographic slopes and enhances subtle color
variation between materials (Abrams et al. 1984).
Arab J Geosci
According to Sultan et al. (1987), the reflectance values
in band 7 (2.08–2.35 μm) of ETM+ 7 data are depending
mainly on the hydroxyl content of the rocks. The ratio of
bands 5 to 7 was used as a measure of the intensity of the
hydroxyl absorption (in the 2.2–2.4 μm region). When
rationed against band 5, clay-rich rocks show as bright
areas. This ratio was used because band 5 is not within the
confines of the Fe-bearing aluminosilicate- or hydroxyl-
related absorption features, whereas band 7 is within the
hydroxyl absorption wavelengths. Iron also produces an
absorption band between 0.85 and 0.92 μm spectral region,
owing to a crystal field effect. This features fall within
landsat band 4, while a reflectance high for all minerals is
found in Landsat band 5. This ratio bands 5/4 will show
higher values for oxidized iron-rich rocks than for other
types. In addition to the use of ratio images separately, they
can also be used to generate false color composite image by
combining three monochromatic ratio datasets. Several col-
or composite images have been constructed using the most
informative combinations of different ratios of ETM+ 7
bands to select the optimum combination most helpful in
the lithological discrimination of the metamorphic complex.
Image enhancement for structural lineaments
One of the main goals of this study is to extract the major
structural lineaments of the each metamorphic complex and
surroundings area by applying the best enhancement tech-
niques on ETM+ 7 satellite images. The term lineament is
used to describe any linear topographic feature such as
segments of drainage, ridges, and escarpments (Hill 1972).
Although lineaments are surfacial topographic features, they
also reflect the subsurface structures; fractures that serve as
a route for movement of fluids and gasses enclosed in pores
and other rock interstices. Therefore, lineaments are a map-
pable, simple or composite, linear feature of the earth’s
surface whose parts are aligned in a straight or gently curved
relationship and presumably reflect a subsurface phenome-
non. Lineament analysis of the study area is carried out with
the aid of enhancement ETM+ 7 satellite image.
Different convolution kernels were applied to ETM+ 7
satellite image to extract the major and minor structural
lineaments of FSMC investigated area. Among these con-
volutions, kernels that give the best result are low-pass
frequency, directional filters, Laplacicen, and compass gra-
dient convolutions. Therefore, the resulting image would be
suitable for lineament mapping purposes and not suitable for
lithological mapping. In addition, the extracted structural
lineaments will be compared and integrated with the other
geological ancillary data and then field verified in order to
give a complete picture on the structural setting of the
investigated area.
Results and discussion
Image enhancement to geological investigation and mapping
Principal component analysis of FSMC
The eigenvectors of the ETM+ 7 image of FSMC, clarify
that the PC3 is highly loaded with band 7 (77 %) and the
fourth principal component is highly loaded with band 4
(63 %). Although the six principal component is highly
loaded with band 2 (77 %), it was excluded because its high
load of band 1, in which bands 1 and 2 have high correla-
tion. Also, the second principal component is highly loaded
with band 2 (42 %). On the other hand, the visual compar-
ison of each principal component image confirm the results
of the eigenvectors, in which PC4, PC3, and PC2 in RGB,
respectively, are the best principal components. The com-
posite image of PC4, PC3, and PC2 in RGB discriminate the
different types of the rock units in this area (Fig. 5), in which
the quartozofeldspathic gneisses appear pinkish white, bio-
tite gneisses appear yellowish green, hornblende biotite
gneisses appear yellowish green, biotite and hornblende
biotite gneisses appear red, migmatites appear pale yellow-
ish green to pale bluish green, dioritic intrusion appear
orange, alkali granites appear sky blue, calc–alkaline granit-
ic rocks appear yellow to yellowish green, and sedimentary
rocks appear yellow to bluish red.
Band ratio images of FSMC
Complexity of structure in FSMC affects the discrimination
of the different types of rocks, in which the whole sequence
is composed of gneisses vertically grading each other with-
out abrupt lithic changes, so no sharp boundary could be
drawn between these units, where the rock units should be
defined by the predominance of a particular rock type rather
than others. Laterally, the rocks do not show clear changes
and there is no abrupt gradation with markedly different
kinds of rocks.
Although all these obstacles, the entire possible band
ratios are tested to delineate the best band ratios, that can
help discriminate the rock units of this complex. In this area,
the band ratio 4/2, 5/4, and 7/5 in RGB has been applied to
discriminate different types of rock units including
quartozofeldspathic gneisses, biotite gneisses, hornblende
biotite gneisses, biotite and hornblende biotite gneisses,
migmatites, alkali granites, calc–alkaline granites, and sed-
imentary rocks (Fig. 6). In this band ratio image, the
quartozofeldspathic gneisses appear sky blue, biotite
gneisses appear purple, hornblende biotite gneisses appear
reddish blue, biotite and hornblende biotite gneisses appear
yellowish green, migmatites appear blue, G. Serbal alkali
granites appear white, G. Ma’in alkali granites appear

Fig. 5 Enhanced PCA ETM+ 7
image (PC4, PC3, and PC2 in
RGB) of FSMC
reddish white, calc–alkaline granitic rocks appear in purple
to reddish blue, and sedimentary rocks appear in yellow to
reddish yellow.
Structural lineaments investigation
The geological interpretations of the used Landsat ETM+ 7
images to recognize the linear features in images such as
contacts between adjacent lithological units of different
brightness and folding axial traces, regional faults, fractures,
and bedding planes can be recognized on enhanced filtering
images. In order to evaluate the performance of discontinuity
map produced by line module, a reference map is required.
The reference map for performance evaluation is determined
based on manual extraction of lineaments as suggested in the
literature (Koike et al. 1995; Mah et al. 1995; Süzen and
Toprak 1998; Novak and Soulakellis 2000). For lineament
extraction, the image is first smoothed with an average low-
pass filter in order to eliminate the noise. Following the
Arab J Geosci
smoothing process, directional filtering method is selected
for the lineament extraction because the directional nature of
Sobel kernels generate an effective and faster way to evaluate
lineaments in four principal directions (Süzen and Toprak
1998). The Sobel kernels in four principal trend directions in
the processed images of the study area are given in Table 1;
those major trends are represented in Fig. 7a–d for FSMC,
which are refer to N–S, NE–SW, E–W, and NW–SE, respec-
tively, spatial filters enhancement for lineament extraction.
The extracted lineaments from enhanced ETM+ 7 satellite
images; other ancillary geological data and field verified have
been done to recognize the main structural features of each
metamorphic complex under investigation (Figs. 8 and 9).
Based on the lineament azimuth frequencies interpreted from
the enhanced satellite images (Fig. 9), it is concluded that the
dominant fracture sets are 30° N–40° E, 40° N–50° E, 20° N–
30° W, and 50° N–60° W, respectively. The NE trending
defines the dyke swarms that crosscut the FSMC and the
surrounding granitoids.
Arab J Geosci

Fig. 6 Enhanced band ratio

Landsat ETM+ 7 image (4/2–5/
4–7/5 in RGB) of FSMC

Structural analysis and investigation The S0 lithological layering

The FSMC here is subdivided structurally into two zones:
one to the southeast, the SZ, and another to the northwest,
the FZ. Within each zone, more than ten cross-strike tran-
sects were made, along which the available planar and linear
structural elements were measured. Maps of figures
(Figs. 10 and 11) show the most prominent planar and linear
elements in the FZ and SZ, respectively.
The earliest structure observed in the FSMC is the primary
lithological layering termed S0. Lithological bands vary
from <1 cm to several meters in thickness and are defined
mainly by variation in the amount and type of mafic min-
erals. Good example of the primary lithological layering
(S0) are thin continuous layers of amphibolites (Fig. 12)
and calc–silicate rocks within quartozofeldspathic gneisses.

Foliations
Table 1 Sobel kernels in four principle directions
Foliation is defined as foliation (derived from the Latin
N–S NE–SW E–W NW–SE word folium, meaning leaf) is generally used for any
−1 0 1 −2 −1 0 −1 −2 −1 0 1 2
fabric-forming planar or curviplanar structure in a metamor-
−2 0 2 −1 0 1 0 0 0 −1 0 1
phic rock, but may also include primary sedimentary bed-
−1 0 1 0 1 2 1 2 1 −2 −1 0
ding or magmatic layering (Fossen 2010) and it is any
mesoscopically penetrative parallel alignment of planar

Fig. 7 Directional filtered ETM+ 7 image of FSMC. a Directional
filtered ETM+ 7 image of Sobel N–S principal direction. b Directional
filtered ETM + 7 image of Sobel NE-SW principal direction.
fabric elements in a rock, usually metamorphic rock (Davis
and Reynolds 1996). Cleavage is just one type of foliation
that includes two basic categories, namely disjunctive and
crenulation cleavage (Borradaile et al. 1982). Cleavage re-
fers to fabrics formed as a consequence of tectonic defor-
mation in rocks at relatively low metamorphic grades
(Marshak and Mitra 1988), whereas foliation forms as a
result of microscopically penetrative deformation and dis-
tortion of rocks under metamorphic conditions of elevated
temperature and pressure (Twiss and Moores 1992).
Foliations defined by domains that have a spacing of
10 μm or more are spaced foliation, whereas foliations that
Arab J Geosci
Directional filtered ETM+ 7 image of Sobel E–W principal direction.
Directional filtered ETM+ 7 image of Sobel NW–SE principal direction
exhibit a finer domainal structure or no domainal structures
at all, are continuous foliations (Twiss and Moores 1992).
Schistosity and gneissic foliations are among the contin-
uous foliations observed in the study area (Fig. 12a, b). This
type is given the symbol S1, which is characterized by
coarse-grained, mica-rich. Chlorite, biotite, or muscovite
defines the foliation, and the mineral grains are coarse
enough to be visible with the unaided eye at W. Solaf.
This “schistosity” foliation may appear as an anastomosing
to smooth disjunctive foliation or coarse continuous folia-
tion (Borradaile et al. 1982). This type of foliation typically
develops as a result of recrystallization of igneous or
Arab J Geosci

Fig. 8 Structural lineaments

map for the entire FSMC
integrated from enhanced
ETM+ 7 and IKONOS satellite
images

sedimentary rocks during middle- to high-grade metamor- within individual outcrops, hand specimens, or thin sections
phism (Davis and Reynolds 1996). (Davis and Reynolds 1996).
Gneissic structure, another major category of foliation Foliation planes strike mainly NW–SE (Figs. 10 and 11),
found in gneisses of the study area, typically develops as a roughly parallel to the elongation of the FSMC, with varying
result of recrystallization of igneous or sedimentary rocks amounts of dip and dip direction. In the eastern portion of the
during middle- to high-grade metamorphism. It is composed
of medium- to coarse-grained minerals and can be defined
by compositional banding by a preferred planar orientation
of platy, tabular, or prismatic minerals and by subparallel
lenticular mineral grains and grain aggregates (Fig. 12c).
The compositional banding occurs at all scales from thick,
continuous bands or layers that can be mapped across an
entire field area, to discontinuous laminae that pinch out

Fig. 9 Rose diagram of fractures azimuth extracted from ETM+ 7 and

IKONOSs satellite images Fig. 10 Structural map of the entire Feiran zone
 Arab J Geosci

SZ, the foliations have a low dip (average 45° towards NE),
whereas in the area between the southern part of W.
Rimm and the northern part of W. Um Takha, the folia-
tions show moderate dips (54° towards NE and SE).
Steeply dipping foliations occur along the northwestern
part of W. Solaf (67°; Fig. 11). In the FZ, foliations show
moderate to steep dips towards the west. Some foliations
have local E–W and NE–SW strike. Subhorizontal folia-
tions also occurred (Fig. 10). The variation in the strike
and the dip of foliations throughout the FSMC reflects the
effect of fold overprinting.
Crenulation foliations are nonpenetrative foliation,
which developed in rocks containing an earlier foliation
(Fletcher 1978). Crenulation foliations are recorded only in
the mica gneisses of the area. The discrete and the zonal
type are the two main types of crenulation (Gray 1977;
Cosgrove 1976; Gray and Durney 1979). Discrete crenula-
tion foliation is a disjunctive foliation in which very narrow
cleavage domains sharply truncate the continuous cleavage
Fig. 11 Structural map of the entire Solaf zone

Fig. 12 Field photographs of S1 foliations in the entire FSMC. a S0 S1 moderately dipping foliations in quartozofeldspathic gneiss, SZ. c
lithological layering parallel to S1 steeply dipping foliations in S1 gneissic structure in quartozofeldspathic gneiss, FZ. d Crenulation
quartozofeldspathic gneiss, SZ. b S0 lithological layering parallel to foliation of discrete type in biotite gneiss, SZ
Arab J Geosci

Fig. 13 Point and

stereographic plot of poles to S1
foliations of FSMC. a Point
diagram and b stereographic
diagram of FSMC. c Point
diagram and d stereographic
diagram for Feiran zone. e Point
diagram and f stereographic
diagram for Solaf zone

of the microlithons, almost like tiny faults. Zonal crenula-
tion foliation, on the other hand, is marked by wider-
cleavage domains that coincide with tight, appressed limbs
of microfolds in the preexisting continuous cleavage pre-
served within microlithons (Davis and Reynolds 1996). The
zonal type was recognized in biotite-rich rocks; namely
biotite and hornblende biotite gneiss (Fig. 12d).
Geometrically, WorkWare 14 software (WorkWare 2008)
is used to analyze the structural elements, in which the poles
to 344 foliation planes of the total data of SZ and FZ are
projected and contoured on an equal area net using a con-
stant contour interval (Fig. 13a, b). The point diagram and
the stereogram of the plotted poles reveal that the poles are
aligned along a great circle of the projection (Fig. 13a, b),

i.e., along a fold girdle, which is striking N37° E and dips
70° towards N53° W. The normal to the girdle, i.e., the fold
axis plunge 20° due S53° E. It seems clear that the stereo-
grams show the effects of macroscopic folding of S1 sur-
faces trending shallowly to the SE.
The poles to 232 foliation planes measured in the
metamorphic rocks of SZ are projected and contoured on an
equal area net using a constant contour interval (Fig. 13c, d).
The stereogram of the plotted poles reveals that the poles to S1
surfaces are distributed along one distinct maximum.
It seems clear that the poles are aligned along a great
circle of the projection (Fig. 13c, d), i.e., along a fold girdle,
which is striking N48° E and dips 85° towards N42° W. The
normal to the girdle, i.e., the fold axis plunge 5° due S42° E.
On the other hand, the poles to 112 foliation planes
measured in the metamorphic rocks of FZ are projected
and contoured on an equal area net using a constant contour
interval (Fig. 13e, f). The stereogram of the plotted poles
reveals that the poles are aligned along a great circle of the
projection (Fig. 13e, f), i.e., along a fold girdle, which is
striking N32° E and dips 65° towards N58° W. The normal
to the girdle, i.e., the fold axis plunge 25° due S58° E.
Shear zones
Normal-related ductile shear zones
The extensional ductile shear zones in FSMC were first
recognized by Fowler and Hassan (2008). They explained
that the normal-sense ductile shears were formed during the
development of the S1 foliations. The normal-sense ductile
shears commonly lie at 30° to the layering S1. The S1
foliation in the hanging wall of the shear lies at a small
angle to the shear plane while the shear is discordant to the
S1 foliation (Fig. 14a, b). The ductile shears are commonly
curved (concave upwards) leading to rollover rotation of S1
foliations near the shear plane and dipping to all directions
of the study metamorphic complex and not to a confined
direction.
Thrust-related ductile shear zones
Thrust ductile shear zones are broad zones of diffuse defor-
mation that extends in the entire FSMC, where S- and Z-
shaped of folded foliations spread all over the study area.
The transport direction during this phase does not confine to
specific direction and the thrust-related folds mainly verge
to the SW and sometimes to NW, SE, or to the NE. Then,
thrust shear zones are associated with similar type of folds
and always appear on one limb of the fold. The folding of S1
foliations suggests that thrust shear zones follow the normal-
related ductile shear zones (Fig. 15).
Arab J Geosci
Sinistral and dextral-related ductile shear zones
Sinistral and dextral sense of shear was recorded in FSMC,
which refer to commonly NW–SE sinistral movements
(Figs. 16 and 17). C-C′ fabric (Fig. 16a) shows C′ foliation
plane is oblique to the shear zone boundaries and to the
older foliation (Passchier and Trouw 1996). The C foliation
surface is parallel to the shear zone boundary and is a
surface of shear accumulation. The C/S fabric is also found,
in which the C plane is parallel to the shear zone boundaries
and the S foliation is oblique to the shear zone boundary
(Fig. 16b). S-shaped fold asymmetry is also common in
calc–silicate rocks (Fig. 16c, d) and sometimes associated
with σ type, indicating sinistral sense of shear.
Brittle shear zones
The FSMC is bounded from the northern side by a dextral
brittle shear zone striking N52° W and juxtaposes the
quartozofeldspathic gneiss in the west against the calc alka-
line granitoides in the east and cut in some parts the alkali
granites (Fig. 2). The Rihba shear zone as designated by
Khalil and McClay (2001) is about 50 km long and 200 m
wide zone of intensely fractured and brecciated granitoids
and foliated gneisses and does not affect the Phanerozoic
sediments. On the other hand, the satellite image studies
reveal that the intrusion of G. Goza alkali granites were
intruding along this shear zone, this intrusion will be
discussed later (Figs. 1, 2, and 26).
Boudinage structure
Boudins are linear segments of a layer that has been pulled
apart along periodically spaced lines of separation called
boudin lines (Fig. 18; Twiss and Moores 1992). Boudins
are extensional structures formed by layer–parallel exten-
sion. Boudinage is the process that leads to the formation of
boudins from originally continuous layers. Boudins are mo-
re or less regularly shaped rectangular fragments formed by
stretching of competent layers or foliations (Fossen 2010).
Boudinage structure is recognized as one of the most com-
mon structures in the folded areas which have been region-
ally metamorphosed, ranging from low-grade schists to
high-grade gneisses such as granulite (Whitten 1966).
In the area under investigation, boudins display a wide
variety of shapes. Pinch-and-swell structures are rather gen-
tle oscillations in the thickness of a bed developed in the
plane of S1 foliations (Fig. 18). The necks between boudins
are smoothly curved and still linked with each other indi-
cating that the difference in competency between boudins
and the enveloping materials are small. The existence of
pinch-and-swell is by itself strong evidence for nonlinear
flow in the stiff layer (e.g., Hudleston and Lan 1993).
Arab J Geosci

Fig. 14 Normal related ductile shear zone oblique to S1 foliations. a NE dipping normal related ductile shear zone extensional shear. b SE dipping
normal related ductile shear zone

Moreover, the boudins may be completely separated from Boudins in the entire complex are stretched in two di-
each other conforming that a great difference in competency rections perpendicular to each other suggesting extension in
was existed (Fig. 18). two directions and give evidence for uniform flattening and

Fig. 15 Thrust related ductile shear zones in the entire FSMC. a associated similar fold with WNW vergence. c Thrust related S-shaped
Foliation orientation related to thrust ductile shear zone with top-to- with SE vergence. d Thrust related Z-shaped with SW vergence
SW. b Thrust ductile shear zone developed along one limb of the
 Arab J Geosci

Fig. 16 Most common sinistral shear sense indicators in the entire S older foliation is oblique to the shear zone boundary. c S-shaped fold
FSMC (map view). a C-C′ fabric, where C plane is parallel to the shear asymmetry with sub-vertical foliations in calc-silicates. d σ-type which
zone boundary and the C′ plane is oblique to the shear zone boundary. bounded by the white circle associated with S-shaped, indicating
b C/S fabric, where C plane is parallel to the shear zone boundary and sinistral related ductile shear zone in calc-silicates

therefore the boudinage structure is called chocolate tablet (2010a, b). Folding of the entire boudins is also observed
boudinage as noted by El-Shafei (1998) and Fowler et al. reflecting later deformational events (Fig. 18b).

Fig. 17 Most common dextral shear sense indicators in the entire FSMC (map view). a σ-Type rotated porphyroclast in hornblende biotite gneiss
intercalated with biotite gneiss. b Z-shaped fold indicates dextral ductile shear zone in calc-silicates
Arab J Geosci
Fig. 18 Boudinage structure in the enttire FSMC. a Binch and swell boudinage structure developed in the plane of S1 foliations. b Binch and swell
boudins developed in the plane of S1 foliations are folded
Mineral lineations
The mineral lineations in the entire FSMC are characterized
by elongation in one direction relative to the other two
directions. The alignment may be due either to growth of
the crystal in a preferred direction (controlled by differential
stress or by flow-controlled diffusion) or because elongate
grains are rotated toward a principal strain direction during
deformation. This type of linear fabric is taken to indicate
the direction of stretching in the rock and is therefore called
a stretching lineation (Van der Pluijm and Marshak 2004;
Fig. 19). The stretching lineations of the study area are
subhorizontal and oriented mainly to the NW–SE.
The attitude of 82 mineral lineations of the entire FSMC
are plotted and encountered on a point diagram (Fig. 20a).
The data concentrated in the NW and SE quadrant of the
diagram. For more details, the attitudes of 47 mineral line-
ations of FZ are plotted and encountered on a point diagram
(Fig. 20b). The point diagram shows a concentration of the
Fig. 19 Stretching lineations in FSMC. a SE plunging rodding structure, FZ. b NW plunging stretching lineations, SZ
mineral lineations in the SE quadrant. Also, the attitudes of
35 mineral lineations of SZ are plotted and encountered on a
point diagram (Fig. 20c). It is clear that the diagram shows a
concentration in the NW part of the projection. Moreover,
some measurements are located at the NE quadrant, which
are more or less parallel to the fold hinges of the fourth
generation.
Polyphase folding
The cross-cutting and overprinting relationships of the
mesoscopic structural elements reveals that the FSMC have
been subjected to four folding phases (Sultan 2004; Hegazi
et al. 2005). The oldest phase of folding F1 is represented by
tight to isoclinal intrafolial folds usually have thickened
hinges zones (Fig. 21a, b), attenuated limbs, in which the
axial plane is parallel to S1 foliations, which must be con-
vincingly syn-S1. The F1 folds that were evidently formed
 Arab J Geosci

Fig. 20 Stereographic plot of

stretching lineations for the
entire FSMC. a Stereographic
diagram of FSMC stretching
lineations. b Stereographic
diagram of FZ stretching
lineations. c Stereographic
diagram of SZ stretching
lineations

by the same deformation event as the S1 foliations, as is true
for most of the deformed terrains are the best rule for
identification of F1 folds (Fowler and Hassan 2008).
The second phase of folding is characterized by tight to
isoclinal similar folds occasionally recumbent (Fig. 22a) and
sometimes associated with a crenulation cleavage (S2;
Fig. 21b). Although F2 folds are described as being related
to thrusting to the SW as noted by El-Shafei and Kusky
(2003), Hegazi et al. (2005), and Fowler and Hassan (2008),
minor ductile shearing refer to thrusting to the NE and to the
SE specially in FZ (Fig. 15). The fold hinges of this phase is
mainly NW–SE oriented and in rare cases NE or SW

Fig. 21 a Isolclinal intrafolial F1 fold terminated above and below by S1 foliations in hornblende biotite gneiss. b Isoclinal intrafolial F1 fold in
hornblend biotie gneiss
Arab J Geosci
Fig. 22 Photographs of F2 Similar folds. a F2 recumbent similar fold
in hornblende biotite gneiss, W. Feiran. b Overturned similar fold
associated S 2 crenulation axial plane foliations in migmatitic
oriented. Superimposing of two similar folds of the same
generation are observed and the hinges are perpendicular
to each other and the axial planes are parallel (Fig. 22c, d).
The F2 hinges are parallel to F1 hinges trending shallowly
(NW–SE) and caused folding to S0 and S1, in addition to
refolding of F1 folds.
The third phase of folding is characterized by open con-
centric folds, which sometimes upright and inclined
(Fig. 22) and its hinges are roughly parallel to the F1 and
F2 hinges trending shallowly (NW–SE) parallel to the re-
gional trend of the map scale antiforms. The F3 folds com-
monly superimposing F1 and F2 folds characterizing the
third type of Ramsay (1967).
The fourth phase of folding is characterized by open
concentric folds trending NE–SW (Fig. 22d). The change
of the NW–SE trending hinges of the first three phases of
folding to the NE–SW of the fourth phase, give indication of
changing in the stress regime. The F4 folds commonly
refolded F1, F2, and F3 folds, in addition to their stretching
lineations. This phase is common in the entire FSMC and
not rare as noted by Fowler and Hassan (2008).
metasediments. c Superimposed of two similar folds, where the hinges
are normal to each other. d Sketch of c
In complexly deformed areas, folded layers of rock com-
monly display a geometry indicating that the earlier folds
have been folded by one or more sets of later folds. Such
multiple folding is referred to as superposed folding
(interference pattern) and the different sets of folds are
called generations of folds (Twiss and Moores 1992). The
complex surface shape produced by the interference of one-
fold system on another depends on the relationship between
the second phase of movement direction and the orientation
of the first folds (Ramsay 1962b; Stewart 1993). Ramsay
(1967) categorized the interference patterns into three types;
named types 1, 2, and 3.
The fold interference pattern is very important in these
studies especially since the trending hinges of F1, F2, and F3
are oriented (NW–SE). This method easily confirms the
phase of folding and is common in SZ. The third type of
the interference pattern is the dominant type in the investi-
gated complex, where the first type of folding was refolded
by the third sets of folding in which its fold hinges are
parallel and the axial traces are oblique to each other, or
sometimes the axial traces are parallel to each other

Fig. 23 Phototgraphs of F3 and F4 open concentric folds. a Upright F3 open concentric fold in migmatite. b Inclined F3 open concentric fold in
quartozofeldspathic gneiss. c Recumbent F3 open concentric fold in migmatites. d F4 open concentric fold in quartozo-feldspathic gneiss
(Fig. 23a). The second sets of folding are also refolded
by the third sets of folding in which its fold hinges are
parallel and the axial traces are nearly oblique to each
other (Fig. 23b, c). The third and the fourth generation of
folding are located in the same place as superimposing
pattern (Fig. 23d)
Geometrically, the attitudes of 277-fold hinges in the
entire FSMC are plotted (Fig. 24a). The diagram shows four
maxima, in which the first maximum plunges 14° towards
the S40° E direction, the second plunges 11° towards the
N39° W direction, the third maximum plunges 39° towards
the N70° E direction, and the fourth maximum plunges 63°
towards S36° W direction. These maxima reflect the com-
plexity of folding pattern in the investigated complex.
The attitudes of 105-fold hinges measured in FZ are
plotted (Fig. 24b). The diagram shows three maxima, in
which the first maximum plunges 27° towards the S45° E
direction, the second plunges 9° towards the N39° W direc-
tion, and the third maximum plunges 44° towards N66° E
direction. The fourth maximum plunges 55° towards the
Arab J Geosci
S38°W direction. From this diagram, it is clear that the first
and second maxima are plotted in the SE and NW quad-
rants, respectively, and there are more or less parallel to one
generation; but the third and the fourth maximum, which is
found in the NE and SW quadrants, respectively, belongs to
another generation following the previous one.
On the other hand, the attitudes of 172-fold hinges mea-
sured in SZ are plotted (Fig. 25c). The diagram shows three
maxima, in which the first maximum plunges 10° towards
the S38° E direction, the second plunges 10° towards the
N40° W direction and the third maximum plunges 40°
towards the N68° E direction. From this diagram, it is clear
that the first and second maxima are plotted in the SE and
NW quadrants, respectively, and there are more or less
parallel to one generation, but the third maximum, which
was found in the NE quadrant, belongs to another genera-
tion following the previous one.
The forgoing geometric analysis of SZ and FZ reveals
that the FSMC subjected to two phases of folding. The field
measurements show that there are four generations of
Arab J Geosci
Fig. 24 Superimposed folding in the entire FSMC. a F1 isoclinal fold
refolded by open fold in migmatite metasediments. b F2 isoclinal
similar fold refolded by F3 open concentric fold in quartozofeldspathic
folding present, based on the geometric relationships of fold
elements and the interference patterns of folding.
Tectonic evolution
The first generation of tectonic structures
The first deformational event is characterized by extensional
tectonic regime, which consists of strong gneissosity more
or less parallel to the lithological layering S0 as a result of
vertical shortening and horizontal extensional. A strong
stretching lineation L1 represents the NW–SE stretching
direction on S1 and the chocolate tablet boudinage and
equivalent lensoidal pinch-and-swell structures indicate uni-
form flattening and shortening normal to S1 and finally the
presence of normal ductile shear zones confirming the ex-
tensional tectonic origin. The NW–SE trending, tied to
isoclinal intrafolial coaxial folds, accompanied this defor-
mational event.
gneiss. c F2 tight similar fold refolded by F3 open comcentric fold in
migmatite. d F3 and F4 open concentric fold in quartozofeldspathic
gneiss
The second generation of tectonic structures
The second deformational event (D2) is characterized by
NW–SE trending tight to isoclinal similar folds of passive
mechanism, in which one of the two limbs is associated with
thrust ductile shear zone. The thrust shear zones verge
mainly to the SW and sometimes verge to NW, SE, or to
NE. The similar folds and the accompanied thrust shear
zones (Fig. 15) reflect simple noncoaxial shear deformation
of contractional regime.
The third generation of tectonic structure
The third generation of tectonic structure (D3) consists of
NW–SE trending open concentric folds associated with
NW–SE sinistral strike–slip shear zones and NW–SE
stretching lineations. The F3 folds can be termed as wrench-
related folding that formed as a result of transpressional re-
gime (Wilcox et al. 1973), in which the C system related

Fig. 25 Stereographic plot of
the fold hinges for the entire
FSMC. a Stereographic
diagram of FSMC fold hinges.
b Stereographic diagram of
Feiran zone fold hinges. c
Stereographic diagram of Solaf
zone fold hinges
folding is resulted from the compression induced by a wrench
action making angle range from 0° to 45° with the principle
displacement zone (Chen et al. 2010). F3 open folds make an
angle more or less 10° with the main shear zone. The F3
hinges are roughly parallel to the F1 and the F2 hinges trending
shallowly NW–SE parallel to the regional trend of the map
scale antiforms. The F3 folds commonly refold F2 folds. The
NW–SE sinistral strike-slip shear zones are parallel to the
Najd Fault System and are responsible for the exhumation of
the FSMC as noted by Abu Alam and Stüwe (2009).
The lithosphere scale Najd fault system is known to be
related to the exhumation history of a series of high-grade
metamorphic terranes throughout the Eastern Desert of
Egypt and Sinai that are of similar age and grade to the
FSMC (615–610 Ma; Stern and Manton 1987). Within this
setting, major volumes of post-tectonic granites that sur-
round the complex were produced by decompression-
enhanced melting and are transported through the Najd fault
system, thereby obliterating the margins of the complex.
This interpretation is equivalent to the Eastern Desert where
the D3 phase is also interpreted as the Najd Fault system and
related to ascent of the post-tectonic granitic magma
(e.g., Shalaby et al. 2005; Farahat et al. 2007).
Arab J Geosci
On the other hand, the dextral shear zone (Fig. 26b) that
juxtapose the quartozofeldspathic gneiss and the calc alka-
line granites that bounded the northern side of the complex
is explained as reactivation of the Najd fault System during
Oligo-Miocene confirming the preexisting Najd Fault
System during the third deformational event and the associ-
ated intrusion of the surrounding granitoids (Fig. 26). On the
other hand, the intrusion of G. Goza alkali granites was
intruding also along the weak zones of the same Najd shear
zone (Fig. 26c).
The fourth generation of tectonic structure
The fourth deformational event (D4) is characterized by
NE-plunging open concentric folding overprint the pre-
existing folds of the previously deformed events and
formed under flexural slip mechanism of pure shear
model reflecting coaxial deformation (Fig. 23d) and in-
dicating change in the stress regime as a result of the
change in shortening from NE–SW to NW–SE. This
phase was probably accompanying the late stage of the
plutonic emplacement.
Arab J Geosci
Fig. 26 IKONOS image
illustrate the reactivation of
Najd Fault System at the
northern boundary of FSMC
during Oligo-Miocene. a Rihba
shear zone bounding the
northern side of FSMC, note the
location image of figure a and
b. b Dextral shear zone
Juxtapose the
quartozofeldspathic gneiss (QZ)
and the calc–alkaline granites
(CA). c G. Goza intruded along
the weak zones of the Najd fault
System
Conclusion
The southern Sinai metamorphic complexes are the northern
uppermost part of the Arabian–Nubian Shield revealing the
upper and middle crust from the East African Orogen, in
which they tectonically evolved. Geospatial technology and
structural analysis were applied in the one deformation
FSMC in south Sinai. In which the new adopted (ETM+ 7)
band ratio image (4/2, 5/4, 7/5, in RGB) and the principal
component analysis (PC4, PC3, and PC2 in RGB) are a
successful tool in separating the different lithologic units
in FSMC. These methods succeeded to discriminate
horndblende biotite gneiss, biotite gneiss, quartozo-
feldspathic gneiss, meladiorite, and the surrounding calc–
alkaline granitoids and alkaline granites from the study
complex. The directional filtering method for the (ETM+ 7)
image, the hillshade map, and classified elevation map
extracted from the ASTER GDEM and studies of the
IKONOS image of FSMC are the useful way for lineament
extraction of the study area. The extracted lineament map of
FSMC reveals that the complex subjected to four principal
directions N–S, NE–SW, E–W, and NW–SE, in which the
NW–SE direction is bounding the complex from the north-
ern side and parallel to the main orientation of the complex
and the NE–SW direction is the major direction, clearly
affected the complex. In addition to the structural analysis
and field verification, we concluded that the tectonic evolu-
tion of FSMC have four deformation generations of tectonic
structure. The earliest tectonic event, D1, produced isoclinal
intrafolial folds with NW–SE trending hinges and related to
extensional tectonic regime. D2 is represented by NW–SE
trending tight to isoclinal similar folds, verge towards the
SW, and is related to accretion of east and west Gondwana.
The main postcollisional deformation, D3, includes oblique
sinistral transpression defined by major NW–SE trending
sinistral ductile shear zones associated with major
subhorizontal NW–SE stretching lineations and NW–SE
open folds. These sinistral ductile shear zones are compara-
ble with the Najd Fault System as they display a similar
sense of movement and relationships to the Najd Fault
System of Arabia and Egypt. Therefore, they are interpreted
to be the continuation of the Najd Shear System in Sinai.
The postcollisional calc–alkaline granitoids intruded accom-
panied this phase of deformation and overprinted by subse-
quent extension of NE dyke swarms. D4 is represented by
gentle open concentric NE–SW trending folds related to
shortening NW–SE and referring to late orogenic compres-
sional deformation. The Pan-African Najd Fault System was
reactivated during Red Sea tectonics as indicated by dextral
shear zone (Rihba) bordering the northern side of the
FSMC. Finally, the current study are recommended to carry
out studies for the other reset of the metamorphic belt
complexes of south Sinai that were subjected to four defor-
mational events in order to create a complete tectonic model
picture and tectonic evolution of south Sinai metamorphic
complexes.

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