Fractal Calculus and Analysis for Characterizing Geoanomalies Caused by Singular Geological Processes

Abstract

Integral and differentiation are two mathematical operations in modern calculus and analysis which have been commonly applied in many fields of science. Integration and differentiation are associated and linked as inverse operation by the fundamental theorem of calculus. Both integral and differentiation are defined based on the concept of additive Lebesgue measure although various generations have been developed with different forms and notations. Fractals can be considered as geometry with fractal dimension (e.g., non-integer) which no longer possesses Lebesgue additive property. Accordingly, the ordinary integral and differentiation operations are no longer applicable to the fractal geometry with singularity. This paper introduces a recently developed concept of fractal differentiation and integral operations. These operations are expressed using the similar notations of the ordinary operations except the measures are defined in fractal space or measures with fractal dimension. The calculus operations can be used to describe the new concept of fractal density, the density with fractal dimension or density of matter with fractal dimension. The concept and methods are also applied to interpret the Bouguer anomaly over the mid-ocean ridges. The results show that the Bouguer gravity anomaly depicts singularity over the mid-ocean ridges. The development of new calculus operations can significantly improve the accuracy of geodynamic models.

Keywords

fractal integral / fractal differentiation / fractal density / Bouguer gravity anomaly / mid-ocean ridges

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