Madograms help to quantify mountain frontal zones—An approach towards comparative spatial analysis of complex landforms

Abstract

AbstractThis article explores the value of madograms to characterize the geomorphology of frontal belts of mountain ranges. Madograms are a geostatistical, variogram‐related concept, allowing for the analysis of altitude variability as a function of distance. After simple idealized digital elevation models were tested to reveal characteristic madogram shapes for various landform configurations, madograms were calculated for three frontal zones of different origin and morphology, located in the Sudetes range (Central Europe). Isopleth madograms and Ward's clustering method were applied to investigate similarities and differences within and between frontal zones. The results proved consistent with the accumulated, largely qualitative knowledge about geomorphology of the frontal zones and confirm the usefulness of the method, which allows for more insightful quantification of the morphology of mountain frontal zones, recognition of their internal spatial structure, and discrimination between fronts of various morphology and origin. Various recommendations for future users are also offered.