Highlights
- Scale-invariance, self-similarity and universality are ubiquitous in karst
- Fractal can be found in the exokarst and the endokarst
- Fractals are also found in karst hydrogeology
- Hypotheses and conjectures about the origin of such behavior are proposed
Abstract
Many features of a karst massif can either be modelled using fractal geometry or have a fractal distribution. For the exokarst, typical examples include the geometry of the landscape and the spatial location and size-distribution of karst depressions. Typical examples for the endokarst are the geometry of the three-dimensional network of karst conduits and the length-distribution of caves. In addition, the hydrogeological parameters of the karst massif, such as hydraulic conductivity, and karst spring hydrographs may also exhibit fractal behaviour. In this work we review the karst features that exhibit fractal behaviour, we review the literature in which they are described, and we propose hypotheses and conjectures about the origin of such behaviour. From the review and analysis, we conclude that fractal behaviour is exhibited at all scales in karst systems.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.48.1.2218
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Pardo-Igúzquiza, Eulogio; Peter A. Dowd; Juan J. Durán; and Pedro Robledo-Ardila.
2019.
A review of fractals in karst.
International Journal of Speleology,
48: 11-20.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol48/iss1/2
