Morphological and lithological aspects in the northeastern Libyan desert by remote sensing

A multi-scale/multi-sensor approach has been applied on a portion of the Libyan Desert in Egypt, providing a morphological and lithological setting. Large depressions are the main geomorphological structure, as evidenced by DTMs created by satellite and topographical data. Bare soils are well exposed over the largest part of the area: a spectral analysis, performed on multispectral MODIS and ASTER images, has allowed the recognition of the major lithological units. The classification is a starting point for further investigations, towards a better understanding of the mutual influence between landscape and human settling during historical time.