Abstract: Applications of Fractals in the Characterization of Geologic Data in the Central Appalachians of West Virginia

T. H. Wilson, J. Dominic, J. Halverson, A. Burns, J. Holmes

This study evaluates the fractal characteristics of topographic and structural relief, drainage, and topographic contours, and examines the possibility of using fractals to quantify interrelationships between them. Local studies in a total of four areas extending from the Valley and Ridge across the Appalachian Plateau reveal significant differences in the fractal dimension of surface topography and suggest that fractals may provide a quantitative measure of structural control on topographic development.

A detailed study in the Valley and Ridge reveals systematic changes in the fractal dimension of topography along major structures where they cross the Parsons cross-strike discontinuity (CSD). The fractal dimension of structural relief was computed for several cross sections through the area, and a linear correlation was obtained between the fractal dimensions of topographic and structural relief.

The east margin of the Rome trough is defined by a major normal fault with several thousand feet of displacement. Fractal analysis of seismic profiles across the east margin of the trough reveal abrupt increases in fractal dimension between Precambrian basement and top of the Rome Formation, and between the Devonian Onondaga Limestone and Huron Shales. These differences are associated with Cambrian rifting and Alleghenian detachment, respectively. The east-margin fault was relatively inactive following the early Paleozoic and variation in the fractal dimension of surface topography is not observed locally across it; however, a significant difference is observed between the east and west margins of the trough suggesting the presence of possible regional influence of trough structure on topography.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90950©1996 AAPG GCAGS 46th Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas