Anomalous scaling of branching tidal networks in global coastal wetlands and mudflats.

ABSTRACT: Branching networks are key elements in natural landscapes and have attracted sustained research interest across the geosciences and numerous intersecting fields. The prevailing consensus has long held that branching networks are optimized and exhibit fractal properties adhering to power-law scaling relationships. However, tidal networks in coastal wetlands and mudflats exhibit scaling properties that defy conventional power-law descriptions, presenting a longstanding enigma. Here we show that the observed atypical scaling represents a universal deviation from an ideal fractal branching network capable of fully occupying the available space. Using satellite imagery of tidal networks from diverse global locations, we identified an inherent "laziness" in this deviation-where the increased eas

SUBMITTER: Xu F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11549412 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature