Regional Relief and Structural Pattern Identification Over the Indian Subcontinent using INSAT-VHRR Data

INSAT (Indian National Satellite) VHRR (Very High Resolution Radiometer) night time thermal IR (infrared) data have been used for extraction of regional tectonic/structural features over Indian peninsula using Sobel operators. The enhanced pseudo-three dimensional image has shown the major tectonic features over the Indian subcontinent. The boundary of the Himalayan thrust belt and other major structural features could be demarcated. A number of regional tectonic/structural patterns could be identified in the INSAT VHRR enhanced night time thermal IR imagery. Himalayan frontal thrust belt could be delineated distinctively in the processed image. Relief patterns in the Aravalli and Sri Lanka could be visualized. Relief patterns of the Western and Eastern Ghats are also discernible. Enhancement of INSAT night time thermal infrared imagery thus found to be useful in discerning the major tectonic patterns over the Indian subcontinent and its surroundings.