Multifractal Topography: A Tool to Measure Tectonic Complexity in the Zagros Mountain Range

Abstract

In this research, it is tried to measure tectonic complexity from the multifractal attributes of the Earth’s surface topography in the Zagros Mountain range. For this aim the multifractal characteristics of topography have been achieved using the strange attractor formalism. The approach is based on wavelet–fractal calculation of one-dimensional topography cross-sections. Wavelet coefficients have been employed for the multifractal formalism in order to obtain the multifractal Holder singularity and generalized fractal dimension spectrums. The linked shape parameters of the spectrums are considered to determine the multifractal attributes of topography data sets. Calculations indicate the topography is scale invariant and likely to be chaotic; however, every region has its own multifractal characteristics. The obtained results suggest a relatively heterogeneous topography for the middle parts of the simple-folded belt and a quite homogeneous one for the central portions of the high-Zagros thrust belt. Correspondingly, it is concluded the tectonic processes involved in the central parts of the simple-folded belt are relatively intricate and heterogeneous. While in the central portions of the high-Zagros belt, those processes are fairly homogeneous and act in a simple way. Our findings are in correspondence with the tectonic background of the Zagros fold and thrust belt reported in the literature. This study offers a quantitative measure and provides comparative results to evaluate the topography and superficial tectonic features of the crust in the Zagros Mountain range, using a wavelet based strange attractor formalism.