Fractals and Chaos in Geology and Geophysics

Now in a greatly expanded second edition, this book relates fractals and chaos to a variety of geological and geophysical applications.

Donald L. Turcotte (Author)

9780521567336, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 July 1997

416 pages, 222 b/w illus. 4 colour illus. 176 exercises
25.2 x 20.3 x 2 cm, 0.88 kg

'… a good point of entry for those practising earth scientists who wish to acquaint themselves with fractals and chaos prior to reading more specialised literature.' Journal of Sedimentary Research

The fundamental concepts of fractal geometry and chaotic dynamics, along with the related concepts of multifractals, self-similar time series, wavelets, and self-organised criticality, are introduced in this book, for a broad range of readers interested in complex natural phenomena. Now in a greatly expanded second edition, this book relates fractals and chaos to a variety of geological and geophysical applications. These include drainage networks and erosion, floods, earthquakes, mineral and petroleum resources, fragmentation, mantle convection and magnetic field generation. Many advances have been made in the field since the first edition was published. In this edition coverage of self-organised criticality is expanded and statistics and time series are included to provide a broad background for the reader. All concepts are introduced at the lowest possible level of mathematics consistent with their understanding, so that the reader requires only a background in basic physics and mathematics. Problems are included for the reader to solve.

Preface
Preface to the second edition
1. Scale invariance
2. Definition of a fractal set
3. Fragmentation
4. Seismicity and tectonics
5. Ore grade and tonnage
6. Fractal clustering
7. Self-affine fractals
8. Geomorphology
9. Dynamical systems
10. Logistic map
11. Slider-block models
12. Lorenz equations
13. Is mantle convection chaotic?
14. Rikitake dynamo
15. Renormalization group method
16. Self-organized criticality
17. Where do we stand?
References
Appendix A: glossary of terms
Appendix B: units and symbols
Answers to selected problems
Index.

Subject Areas: Geophysics [PHVG]