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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).
Read Full Article (file size: 936432 bytes) Cited by
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.
Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.
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