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Lineament mapping, which is an important part of any structural geological investigation, is made more efficient and easier by the availability of optical as well as radar remote sensing data, such as Landsat and Sentinel with medium and high spatial resolutions. However, the results from these multi-resolution data vary due to their difference in spatial resolution and sensitivity to soil occupation. The accuracy and quality of extracted lineaments depend strongly on the spatial resolution of the imagery. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the optical Landsat-8, Sentinel-2A, and radar Sentinel-1A satellite data for automatic lineament extraction. The framework of automatic approach includes defining the optimal parameters for automatic lineament extraction with a combination of edge detection and line-linking algorithms and determining suitable bands from optical data suited for lineament mapping in the study area. For the result validation, the extracted lineaments are compared against the manually obtained lineaments through the application of directional filtering and edge enhancement as well as to the lineaments digitized from the existing geological maps of the study area. In addition, a digital elevation model (DEM) has been utilized for an accuracy assessment followed by the field verification. The obtained results show that the best correlation between automatically extracted lineaments, manual interpretation, and the preexisting lineament map is achieved from the radar Sentinel-1A images. The tests indicate that the radar data used in this study, with 5872 and 5865 lineaments extracted from VH and VV polarizations respectively, is more efficient for structural lineament mapping than the Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2A optical imagery, from which 2338 and 4745 lineaments were extracted respectively.

Multi‐method thermochronology along the Vakhsh‐Surkhob fault zone reveals the thermotectonic history of the South Tian Shan–Pamirs boundary. Apatite U/Pb analyses yield a consistent age of 251 ± 2 Ma, corresponding to cooling below ~550–350°C, related to the final closure of the Palaeo‐Asian Ocean and contemporaneous magmatism in the South Tian Shan. Zircon (U–Th–Sm)/He ages constrain cooling below ~180°C to the end of the Triassic (~200 Ma), likely related either to deformation induced by the Qiangtang collision or to the closure of the Rushan Ocean. Apatite fission track thermochronology reveals two low‐temperature (<120°C) thermal events at ~25 Ma and ~10 Ma, which may be correlated with tectonic activity at the distant southern Eurasian margin. The late Miocene cooling is confirmed by apatite (U–Th–Sm)/He data and marks the onset of mountain building within the South Tian Shan that is ongoing today.

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