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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 113, E09002, doi:10.1029/2007JE003066, 2008

Fractal properties of isolines at varying altitude revealing different dominant geological processes on Earth

Andrea Baldassarri

Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma “La Sapienza,” Rome, Italy


Marco Montuori

CNR-INFM, Rome, Italy


Olga Prieto-Ballesteros

Centro de Astrobiología, CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain


Susanna C. Manrubia

Centro de Astrobiología, CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain


Abstract

Geometrical properties of landscapes result from the geological processes that have acted through time. The quantitative analysis of natural relief represents an objective form of aiding in the visual interpretation of landscapes, as studies on coastlines, river networks, and global topography, have shown. Still, an open question is whether a clear relationship between the quantitative properties of landscapes and the dominant geomorphologic processes that originate them can be established. In this contribution, we show that the geometry of topographic isolines is an appropriate observable to help disentangle such a relationship. A fractal analysis of terrestrial isolines yields a clear identification of trenches and abyssal plains, differentiates oceanic ridges from continental slopes and platforms, localizes coastlines and river systems, and isolates areas at high elevation (or latitude) subjected to the erosive action of ice. The study of the geometrical properties of the lunar landscape supports the existence of a correspondence between principal geomorphic processes and landforms. Our analysis can be easily applied to other planetary bodies.

Received 12 December 2007; accepted 16 July 2008; published 5 September 2008.

Keywords: fractal geometry; comparative geomorphology; large-scale topography.

Index Terms: 4440 Nonlinear Geophysics: Fractals and multifractals; 5499 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: General or miscellaneous; 1824 Hydrology: Geomorphology: general (1625).

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Citation: Baldassarri, A., M. Montuori, O. Prieto-Ballesteros, and S. C. Manrubia (2008), Fractal properties of isolines at varying altitude revealing different dominant geological processes on Earth, J. Geophys. Res., 113, E09002, doi:10.1029/2007JE003066.