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Fractal Variation with Changing Line Length: A Potential Problem for Planetary Lava Flow IdentificationFractals are objects that are generally self similar at all scales. Coastlines, mountains, river systems, planetary orbits and some mathematical objects are all examples of fractals. Bruno et al. used the structured walk model of Richardson to establish that lava flows are fractals and that lava flow morphology could be determined by looking at the fractal dimension of flow margins. They determined that Hawaiian a.a flows have fractal dimensions that range from 1.05 to 1.09 and that the pahoehoe lava flows have a fractal dimension from 1.13 to 1.23. We have analyzed a number of natural and simulated lava flow margins and find that the fractal dimension varies according to the number and length of rod lengths used in the structured walk method. The potential variation we find in our analyses is sufficiently large so that unambiguous determination of lava flow morphology is problematic for some flows. We suggest that the structured walk method can provide meaningful fractal dimensions if rod lengths employed in the analysis provide a best-fit residual of greater than 0.98, as opposed to the 0.95 cutoff used in previous studies. We also find that the use of more than 4 rod lengths per analysis also reduces ambiguity in the results.
Document ID
20040056087
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hudson, Richard K.
(Black Hills State Univ. Spearfish, SD, United States)
Anderson, Steven W.
(Black Hills State Univ. Spearfish, SD, United States)
McColley, Shawn
(Brown Univ. Providence, RI, United States)
Fink, Jonathan H.
(Arizona State Univ. Tempe, AZ, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Mars Volcanology and Tectonics
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-11655
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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