GeoGlyphs - a Novel Exploration Tool

Geoglyphs are arcuate examples of self-organizing landforms called eigenmorphs that are usually multi-fractal in occurrence and ubiquitous in nature. Nature appears to prefer to use spheres and circles to fill available volumes and spaces through generalized point diffusion when vectored mass-energy transfer occurs. Other eigenmorph examples include lineaments, diffusion limited aggregates, and reticulated bubble rafts and foams.

In regional high resolution topography maps, large scale circular regions called geoglyphs reveal underlying self-organized mobile substrates supporting a small-world topology of scaled peripheral reoccurrences forming genetically-linked families of intrusion/uplift and extrusion/collapse features.

Brief examples of interpreted geoglyphic families will be presented in maps of the Cordilleran terrain of the western United States created by using a powerful GIS system from Manifold.

In Cordilleran crust, large-scale geoglyphic terrains “emboss” the pre-existing landscape forming discrete domains of self-similar tensegrity strongly influencing subsequent geology, stratigraphy, geodesy, and implicit fluid-flow regimes. The sheer size of the largest of these features transcends the thickness of the brittle crust and may correlate with mantle convection features recently published by Moucha, et. al. Many smaller features appear to influence the spatial distribution of volcanic episodes fueled by the descending and devolatilizing Farallon slab over time.

In Layered Framework maps, these topographic features coincide with reinforcing structural, stratigraphic, and igneous attributes in co-georegistered geologic, NAVDAT and satellite maps.

Mapping glyphic terrains will reveal focused fairways of fluid flows and scaled mineral accumulations for future economic exploration.

One of life's best experiences is being able to make a real difference in other people's lives. One of the surest ways to do that is to change someone's way of Looking at the world. The challenge of seeing something new in old terrains is crystallized in the act of “Seeing the Glyph”.