Fractal geometry allows the description of natural patterns and the establishment and testing of models of pattern formation. In particular, it is a tool for geoscientists. The aim of this volume is to give an overview of the applications of fractal geometry and the theory of dynamic systems in the geosciences. The state of the art is presented and the reader obtains an impression of the variety of fields for which fractal geometry is a useful tool and of the different methods of fractal geometry which can be applied. In addition to specific information about new applications of fractal geometry in structural geology, physics of the solid earth, and mineralogy, proposals and ideas about how fractal geometry can be applied in the reader's field of studies will be put forward. Front Matter....Pages I-4 Front Matter....Pages 5-5 Crustal Deformation and Fractals, a Review....Pages 7-23 Scaling Laws of Fragmentation....Pages 25-36 Fractal Structure and Deformation of Fractured Rock Masses....Pages 37-52 Multi—Scale Model of Damage Evolution in Stochastic Rocks: Fractal Approach....Pages 53-64 Fractal Characteristics of Joint Development in Stochastic Rocks....Pages 65-76 Correlation of Fractal Surface Description Parameters with Fracture Toughness....Pages 77-85 Fractal Dimension of Fracture Patterns — a Computer Simulation....Pages 87-94 The Formation of Extensional Veins: An Application of the Cantor—Dust Model....Pages 95-104 Fractal Fault Displacements: A Case Study from the Moray Firth, Scotland....Pages 105-119 High—Temperature Viscoelastic Behaviour and Long Time Tail of Rocks....Pages 121-129 The Fractal Geometry of Patterned Structures in Numerical Models of Rock Deformation....Pages 131-155 Front Matter....Pages 157-157 Non-Linear Processes in Earthquake Prediction Research, a Review....Pages 159-168 Fractal Analysis as a Tool to Detect Seismic Cycle Phases....Pages 169-179 Binary Descriptions of Stick-Slip Phenomena....Pages 181-196 Main Topics of Fractal Research into Earthquakes in China, a Review....Pages 197-211 Evidence for Self—Similarities in the Harmonic Development of Earth Tides....Pages 213-220 Global Relief: Evidence of Fractal Geometry....Pages 221-230 Front Matter....Pages 231-231 Fractal Geometry and the Mining Industry, a Review....Pages 233-245 The Fractal Distribution of Gold Deposits: Two Examples from the Zimbabwe Archaean Craton....Pages 247-258 Self-Organization of Mineral Fabrics....Pages 259-268 Front Matter....Pages 231-231 The Formation and Fragmentation of Periodic Bands Through Precipitation and Ostwald Ripening....Pages 269-282 Agates, Geodes, Concretions and Orbicules: Self-Organized Zoning and Morphology....Pages 283-305 The Formation of Manganese Dendrites as the Mineral Record of Flow Structures....Pages 307-318 Structure and Fractal Properties in Geological Crystallization Processes Due to Nucleation and Growth....Pages 319-335 Fractal Structure of Quasicrystals....Pages 337-348 Protolytic Weathering of Montmorillonite, Described by Its Effective Surface Fractal Dimension....Pages 349-354 Characteristics and Evolution of Artificial Anisotropic Rocks....Pages 355-367 Characteristic Multifractal Element Distributions in Recent Bioactive Marine Sediments....Pages 369-375 Fractal Analyses of Pleistocene Marine Oxygen Isotope Records....Pages 377-387 Front Matter....Pages 389-389 “Counter—Scaling” Method for Estimation of Fractal Properties of Self—Affine Objects....Pages 391-397 Application of the Grassberger—Procaccia Algorithm to the δ 18 O Record from ODP Site 659: Selected Methodical Aspects....Pages 399-413 Back Matter....Pages 415-421
