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Originally Posted by CraigS
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Yes, they are. But because they appear in geological structures doesn't mean all geological structures come from fractals.
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Originally Posted by CraigS
Take a look at the list of random and natural fractals by Hausdorff dimension (the means for confirming a fractal)… one is called the 'Wiener' Process, or 'Brownian motion' .. the random drifting of particles suspended in a fluid, (a liquid or a gas), or the mathematical model used to describe such random movements, which is often called a particle theory.
Brownian motion is the basis for all known sedimentary formation and mineral deposition, as well as the basis for countless other geological processes. |
Prove it. Only during the the actual deposition of the sediments does brownian motion even come into it. And as for mineral deposition....only in hydrological situations will you get mineral deposition and concentration via brownian motion. Even there, brownian motion is only applicable in certain energy regimes. As far as other instances of mineral deposition are concerned, brownian motion only plays a very small part in mineral deposition. DLA can be seen in mineral deposits, but only in the growth of some crystals structures, not in the mechanisms of ore formation themselves.
You need to take some courses in geology and hydrogeology.
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Originally Posted by CraigS
The distribution of galaxy clusters is another fractal with a measured (SDSS data) dimension approximately equal to 2. The surface of the human brain is also fractal. The surface of the human lung has been formed by a naturally occurring chaotic process of dimension approximately 3. Biology follows chaotic processes and leaves the evidence in the form of fractals. Life most probably emerged from chaotic processes .. the evidence remains in these very organ structures and cellular processes.
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Yes, I agree with what you have said here. Chaos theory has been applied in biology, physics, astronomy and various other fields. But not in geology and not because it's not been applied before, but because it's not overly applicable to the field.
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Originally Posted by CraigS
The same applies in geological structures. The evidence is there in fractal patterns. Geologists need to come out of the past, and start paying attention to modern techniques and the macro-scale evidence.
Cheers
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Not all geological structures are fractal patterns....the drainage patterns along mountain ranges might be fractal, but the mountains themselves are hardly fractal. There is no self similarity between the internal rock structures/mineralogy etc, within the mountains themselves and the large scale processes/structure of the mountains. The same with sedimentary sequences...no self similarity. Nor with the formation of ore deposits. Nor with the motion and formation of the plates and their internal structures and physical processes that occur within them.
Geologist are very much at the forefront of mathematical modelling, modern techniques and are very aware of chaos theory. They also deal with evidence from the micro to the macro scale, it's part of their job description. If the felt that chaos theory was applicable to their overall line of study, they'd use it.
Chaos is only applicable where you have those regimes where the maths may apply, such as in magmatic fluid flow, some diffusion processes, fault generation etc. Basically, geophysics.