Fractals, Vol. 10, No.

4 (2002) 435–449
c World Scientific Publishing Company

INVESTIGATION OF HETEROGENEOUS SCALING

INTERVALS EXEMPLIFIED BY SUTURED
QUARTZ GRAIN BOUNDARIES

CRISTIAN SUTEANU
“Sabba S. Stefanescu” Institute of Geodynamics
19-21 Jean-Louis Calderon Str., 70201 Bucharest, Romania
suteanu@geodin.ro
JÖRN H. KRUHL
Technische Universität München, Section Tectonics and Material Fabrics
Arcisstr. 21, D-80290 Munich, Germany
joern.kruhl@geo.tum.de

Received November 20, 2001; Accepted January 3, 2002

Abstract
Quartz grain boundaries from metamorphic and igneous rocks may emphasize a complex geom-
etry, characterized by self-similarity over one to two orders of magnitude. Their fractal analysis
highlights scaling sub-domains, i.e. scale intervals with a particularly good correlation. Given
the importance of these aspects for the deciphering of geological microstructures, the paper is
dedicated to the detection and the objective depiction of the features of heterogeneous scaling
intervals. A fractal analysis based on the divider method was followed by processing methods
that (i) offer a global evaluation of the curve geometry from the point of view of the correlation
sub-domains, and (ii) allow a local characterization of the curves in terms of scale, with special
concern for the scaling intervals heterogeneity. The application of the proposed approach was
exemplified both on natural and synthetic curves. On one hand, the grain boundary analysis
highlighted scaling sub-domains most obviously in the case of microstructures that were subject
to overprinting, due to successive processes. On the other hand, a pattern superposition in the
case of the synthetic curves strongly emphasized scaling sub-domains, as compared to the un-
perturbed (recursively generated) curve geometry. These aspects were expressed quantitatively
and highlighted in more detail on isocorrelation maps. The importance of a rigorous character-
ization of these sub-domains and, eventually, the detection of pattern overprinting phenomena
in geological microstructures emphasize the relevance of such an approach.

Keywords: Grain Boundaries; Pattern Overprinting; Scaling Sub-Domains; Isocorrelation

Maps.

435
436 C. Suteanu & J. H. Kruhl
1. INTRODUCTION
Grain and phase boundaries strongly affect the
physical properties of crystalline material — the
strength of metamorphic rocks or metallic mate-
rial as well as their conductivity, reactivity and,
consequently, resistance against weathering. More-
over, grain boundaries provide information about
the history of the crystalline material. In metamor-
phic rocks the deformation and temperature history
has been analyzed on the basis of grain bound-
ary orientations and patterns. Such analyses form
the basis of further investigations on the tectono-
metamorphic development of larger sections of the
Earth crust.
The main process of grain boundary formation
and variation is recrystallization, i.e. the “forma-
tion and migration of high-angle boundaries”1 or
the “deformation-induced reorganization of grain
size, shape and/or orientation with only weak or
no change of chemism.”2 It frequently leads to
highly interfingered (sutured) neighboring grains
(Fig. 1) with bulges of variable size and geome-
try. The interfingering, i.e. the migration of the
grain boundaries, is caused by differences of lattice
defect densities between the neighboring crystals
and can be considered as an atomic diffusion pro-
cess at relatively high temperatures. In general,
recrystallization, grain boundary migration and in-
terfingering of neighboring crystals may occur in
any type of crystalline material. However, these
features are specifically well developed in quartz.
For this mineral, it has been shown that the grain
boundary bulges consist of always straight and
crystallographically controlled segments of differ-
ent length.3,4 The length of the segments and the
type of their crystallographic control roughly corre-
late with the temperature during interfingering.4,5
A study on quartz grain boundaries from metamor-
phic rocks of different grade of metamorphism has
shown that the grain boundary patterns, i.e. the
geometries of the sutured grain boundaries, are
statistically self-similar over one to two orders of
magnitude and represent fractals.6 The range of
self-similarity is limited by the size of the quartz
grains (usually not more than 1–2 mm, in most
cases much less) and by the lower magnification
limit of the polarizing microscope of about 1 µm.
The sutured grain boundaries can be seen as an
analogue to self-similar “Koch-curves”7 created by
only two to three iterations. Moreover, first inves-
tigations have shown that the fractal dimensions of
sutured grain boundaries correlate with tempera-
ture and strain rate and, therefore, may serve as a
thermometer6 or strain rate meter.8 The study on
the temperature dependence of quartz grain bound-
ary patterns was performed by the box-counting
and the divider (polygon) methods, described by
Kaye.7 Both methods revealed two different scal-
ing regimes, for those grain boundaries formed
during two different deformation events of differ-
ent temperatures, and one scaling regime for grain
boundaries produced during only one deformation.
In addition, the divider method led to certain
“steps” in the generally linear correlation between
step size and polygon length in a double-logarithmic
(“Richardson”) plot. Or in other words, there are
groups of data points in the Richardson plot, sep-
arated from each other by “steps,” with a specifi-
cally good linear correlation (scaling domains) with
partly a flatter and partly a steeper slope than the
general correlation. This was suggested to be a
result of the internal geometric symmetry of the
sutured boundaries, i.e. the sizes and the arrange-
ment of sutures.6 Even on the basis of the limited
available data it appears that, beyond the linear
relationship, the detailed internal structure of the
data set produced by the divider method bears rel-
evant information on the grain boundary forming
processes and deserves further attention.
The analysis of these aspects needs a more objec-
tive characterization of the graph and the possibil-
ity to highlight, on one hand, local features and, on
the other hand, global properties. Therefore, the
aims of the present study are (i) to reach a quan-
tification of the described step-like graph, (ii) to
compare this aspect between natural and synthetic
(Koch) curves, (iii) to evaluate how the steps are af-
fected by changes in the curve generation algorithm,
and (iv) through that, find an approach to allow a
global evaluation of grain boundary geometries on
the basis of scaling intervals heterogeneity.
2. GRAIN BOUNDARY
GEOMETRY ANALYSIS
2.1 Analyzed Structures
Our analysis started from curves that led to the
highlighting of “steps” separating scaling domains6
(Fig. 2). These curves represent 2-D substi-
tutes of the originally 3-D sutured grain bound-
aries between neighboring quartz crystals from
 Heterogeneous Scaling Intervals 437

(A)

(B)
Fig. 1 Photomicrograph of interfingered (sutured) grain boundaries due to grain boundary migration during and after crystal
deformation at relatively high temperatures. The grain boundaries are composed of numerous straight segments. Crossed
polarizors. (A) Quartz from a syntectonic granodiorite (Rastenberg Pluton, Southern Bohemian Massif). The suturing
occurred during or immediately after the crystallization of the pluton, i.e. at temperatures of ∼600–700◦ C. Sample SB17A;
long side of photograph = 3.5mm. (B) K-feldspar from the Larvik Pluton (Southern Norway). The grain boundary sutures
were formed during crystallization of the melt under stress. Sample JG126; long side of photograph = 3.5 mm.
438 C. Suteanu & J. H. Kruhl
Fig. 2 Sketches of the studied natural quartz-quartz grain
boundaries. The curves are denominated according to the pa-
per of Kruhl and Nega.6 The letters of the curves refer to the
letters in the cited paper. Note: From pattern B (Kruhl and
Nega6 Fig. 2), one grain boundary curve was extracted for the
present analysis. Temperatures experienced by the different
grain boundaries: (A) ca. 300–400◦ C, (B) ca. 490–540◦ C,
(C) and (E) ca. 650–750◦ C.
metamorphic rocks. Igneous (curves B, C and
E) and sedimentary (curve A) host quartz grains
recrystallized during regional deformation and
metamorphism and formed sutured grain bound-
aries between the new recrystallized grains. Typ-
ically, the shapes of grain boundaries are stud-
ied in rock thin sections under the polarizing mi-
croscope. With the aid of a drawing tube, the
shapes of the boundaries are manually transferred
from the highly magnified (usually 100–200 times
magnification) thin-section view to a sheet of pa-
per. Commonly, the boundaries are oblique to the
thin-section plane and, therefore, appear as rather
broad bands, the exact orientation of which can be
recognized only with the aid of additional proce-
dures, e.g. by rotating the polarizors or inserting
the gypsum test plate. Consequently, automatic im-
age analysis cannot be used. However, the sketched
curves are digitized and analyzed automatically (see
further below). The grain boundaries are selected
from metamorphic rocks that experienced different
temperatures of metamorphism ranging from 300–
400◦ C to 650–750◦ C (Fig. 2) and leading to fractal
dimensions of ca. 1.07 to 1.29.
In view of a uniform data processing, allow-
ing a comparative perspective, all lengths are
expressed in conventional units (c.u., where 1 con-
ventional unit is 1/600 of the Feret diameter of
the curve). Also, all logarithm quantities refer to
natural logarithms.
2.2 Methods Applied for the Fractal
Analysis of the Grain Boundaries
The particular features of the studied structures
(briefly presented in Sec. 1) impose certain restric-
tions upon the applicable analysis methods. An ap-
plication of methods dedicated to time series would
imply at least a supplementary, laborious phase,
for the production of time series from the complex
shapes to be analyzed, while the limits implied by
the data (mainly the available scale ranges) make
a multifractal approach inappropriate. However, a
classical approach like the divider method, which
proves to be effective in such circumstances,7 is ex-
pected to fit this task well. On the other hand, it
is precisely in the context of the application of the
latter method that the questions concerning the cor-
relation domains arose.6 This is why we focused on
the application of this method in the present study.
The divider method was implemented in a com-
puter program that used different step sizes to
walk along the curve, thus, replacing it by a poly-
gon. The fractal dimension Df of the curve was
computed from the relation between the measured
length L(z) and the step size z, i.e. L(z) ∼ z −m ,
from there we get7 Df = 1 + m. The measure-
ment was performed for different starting points.
In this case one can notice certain scale intervals
over which point sets emphasize a better correlation
than others (e.g. the first four points on the graph in

Fig. 3 Fractal evaluation by means of the divider method
(curve A).
Fig. 3). Given the aim of this study, it would be
important to see what these representations reveal
when we increase the point density on the log-log
graphs.
We performed this analysis also with the help
of another method expected to be effective for the
kind of structures considered here, the box-counting
method:9 the latter relies on the way the number
of cells occupied by the structure scales with the
cell size. Both methods seemed appropriate for
the study of this type of structures. However, for
the purpose of our paper, the divider method has
an important advantage over box-counting: one can
freely change the density of the analysis intervals
(this operation would be much more complicated
for a box-counting algorithm based on recursive
cell-dividing10 ).
To approach the questions raised in Sec. 1, it
was the divider method that we used in our more
detailed analyses, with step sizes starting from
8 c.u. and growing according to a geometric pro-
gression with ratio 1.1, rounded to the nearest in-
teger. We obtained thus a series of up to 30 steps,
which contributed to a more refined picture of the
log(step) – log(length) relation (Fig. 4), correspond-
ing well to the limited scale range characterizing
these geometrical structures.6 The log-log graphs
refer, for each step, to the middle of the intervals
obtained after having examined the curves from
different initial points. Since the relevance of the
measuring decreases for large step sizes (when the
number of steps is small, e.g. 4 . . . 6), we dis-
carded these last points for the fractal dimension
computation.
Figure 4 shows more clearly that there are scale
intervals for which the linear regression correlation
Heterogeneous Scaling Intervals 439
Fig. 4 Divider method applied to the same curve as in
Fig. 3, with increased step size density.
is much better than in the case of other intervals
(e.g. points 1 . . . 9, points 17 . . . 20). One should
be able to highlight such sub-domains of limited
scale range (generally less than one decade), de-
fined by sets of points characterized by specific ex-
ponents. The presence of these intervals cannot be
recognized from the fractal exponent corresponding
to the ensemble of points and to their average ar-
rangement according to the (step size) – (measured
length) relation. Neither does lacunarity11 provide
a satisfactory description of these interval struc-
tures, since it grasps the effect of point scattering
around the regression line, without reflecting the
way these scattered points are, eventually, grouped
in point sets belonging to correlation sub-domains.
An objective description of the scaling intervals
heterogeneity requires a proper methodology. Our
approach is described in the next sub-section.
2.3 Characterization of
Heterogeneous Scaling Intervals
The goals of the characterization process refer, on
one hand, to local features, and, on the other hand,
to global properties.
2.3.1 Local features
The observation of a good correlation between
groups of points on various scale intervals should be
supported by an objective approach capable to em-
phasize these “local” properties (the word “local”
refers, of course, to the scale range).
440 C. Suteanu & J. H. Kruhl

(a)

(b)
Fig. 5 (a) Correlation coefficient r in a “scale interval starting point — scale interval size” landscape. (b) Map obtained by
the projection of isocorrelation lines (for r = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) of the mentioned landscape. The bar emphasizes correlation
coefficient intervals. Results refer to curve A. Correlation intervals already guessed from Fig. 4 are visible: notice the large
white area for n = 1 . . . 8 and the white channel for n = 17 . . . 18.

To this end, one should consider at the same
time the length of sub-domains, their correlation
coefficient and the position of these sub-domains
with respect to the length scale. We focused on
the correlation for successive step sizes with re-
spect to (i) the scale interval limit (interval starting
point) and (ii) the scale interval size (number of
points). We computed the correlation coefficient r
for m points (m = 2 . . . mmax ) starting from point
n (n = 1 . . . nmax ).

The correlation coefficient r decreases from its
maximal value, r = 1 (for m = 2 points), to a min-
imum value (generally for m = 5 . . . 6 points), to
grow again, approaching unity, for larger m, due
to averaging effects of many points that lie along
the regression line. The relevant interval for m was
(a)
(b)
Fig. 6 Log-log plots and the corresponding isocorrelation maps: (a) and (b) for curve B; (c) and (d) for curve C; and (e)
and (f ) for curve E.
Heterogeneous Scaling Intervals 441
thus found to be 2 . . . 10. Obviously, the limit nmax
must be chosen so that the sum mmax + nmax does
not exceed the total number of available points.
The matrix built this way leads to a landscape
in scale-scale coordinates. An example is shown in
Fig. 5(a).
442 C. Suteanu & J. H. Kruhl
(c)
(e)
Fig. 6
While offering a good overview of the scaling as-
pects on different intervals, the 3-D landscape is
rather difficult to visualize. We used therefore an al-
ternative representation, cutting the landscape with
planes of constant correlation (e.g. r = 0.2, 0.4,
0.6, 0.8) and projecting the intersection curves on a
plane, obtaining thus domains, correspondingly col-
ored, separated by isocorrelation lines (e.g. white
areas represent correlation values larger than r =
0.8). These cuts through the correlation surface can
thus reveal a structure corresponding to the scaling
features from the point of view of the different cor-
(d)
(f )
(Continued )
relation intervals. Due to the interpolation implied
by the surface generation, the isocorrelation curves
highlight the structure effectively, while they do not
necessarily offer detailed information concerning
the correlation corresponding to each point in the
map.
Figure 5(b) shows such an isocorrelation map.
White spaces (channels) from small to large m
indicate correlation sub-domains: the longer the
(vertical) channel, the larger the correlation sub-
domain. Figure 6 presents further evaluation re-
sults and the corresponding isocorrelation maps.

The upper/left to lower/right inclination of differ-
ent domain margins stems from the fact that, along
a series of points that belong to a correlation sub-
domain, when starting from points of increasing
position number, the length of the correlation do-
main is decreasing.
One can notice that in all cases there are —
albeit to a various degree — correlation sub-
domains, separated by zones for which correlation
suddenly drops. A striking example is given in
Fig. 6(f) corresponding to curve E, where the pres-
ence of a series of such intervals is observable. One
should note not only the separation of correlation
sub-domains by different (“gray”) areas, but also
the “depth” of the separation zones, represented by
the darker domain colors. This representation mode
led thus to a modality to present researched aspects
in a simple, yet distinguishable way.
Another landscape — analogous to the one of the
correlation coefficients — comprises for each pair
(m, n) the corresponding exponent (“dimension”)
Dmn. This and the correlation landscape offer thus
together details about every scaling sub-domain.
2.3.2 Global evaluation
A global evaluation is meant to produce a quantita-
tive description of the curves from the point of view
of the presence of scaling sub-domains. The results
could thus provide a possibility to compare, from
this point of view, different types of curve geometry.
We introduced a parameter a defined as follows:
X
d(rmn , rs )
m,n
a= (1)
mp .np
where
1, |a| ≥ b
d(a, b) = (2)
0, |a| < b .
rmn is the correlation coefficient over m successive
points starting with point n (numbered according to
increasing step sizes), and rs is a correlation thresh-
old; mP and nP represent the correlation matrix
size (mP rows and nP columns).
In other words, the parameter a is given by the
number of points in the correlation landscape that
lie above a certain threshold plane. It is normalized
with respect to the total number of points of the
matrix (mP . nP ), so that a belongs to the interval
[0, 1].
Heterogeneous Scaling Intervals 443
We took rs = 0.8, so that the parameter a corre-
sponds to the area of the white zones in the isocor-
relation maps. The modulus in Eq. (2) signifies that
we concentrate on correlation sub-domains, and not
on the sign of the correlation coefficients.
For the studied grain boundary curves, a took
values between 0.6 and 0.8, the highest value corre-
sponding to curve E.
To better understand the significance of the de-
termined values, we proceeded to analyse synthetic
curves with different fractal dimensions. The possi-
bility to modify the curve geometry and to examine
the effect of these changes upon the a-values further
expands the interpretation framework.
3. STUDIES PERFORMED ON
SYNTHETIC CURVES
The similarity of the grain boundary geometry with
the shape of synthetic fractal curves has been high-
lighted and discussed by Kruhl and Nega.6 We
applied the methodology described above also on
synthetic fractal curves: first, this phase of the
study was designed to answer the question con-
cerning the emergence of correlation sub-domains
in the case of such synthetic structures. On the
other hand, having the possibility to change the
curve generation algorithm by superimposing an-
other type of pattern, it was helpful, in this con-
text, to observe possible implications of such a
superposition.
3.1 Construction of Synthetic
Curves
For the purpose of this study, we chose a simple gen-
eration algorithm, applied recursively [Fig. 7(a)].
The synthetic fractal curves were constructed us-
ing a low number of iterations (3), according to the
observations described in Sec. 1.
The subsequent curve geometry perturbation oc-
curred by means of a pattern overlay in the gen-
eration algorithm. Figure 7(b) shows the principle
of the produced perturbation. A shift of the curve
loop was produced: this shift is of size e in the case
of the left (lower) loop and of size f for the right
(upper) loop; e and f are random variables with
uniform distribution and different amplitude (l/20
for e and l/30 for f , Fig. 7).
Figures 7(c) and (d) show two curves produced
as described above. One can notice that mere
444 C. Suteanu & J. H. Kruhl

Fig. 7 Generation of synthetic curves: (a) initial generation algorithm (applied recursively); (b) algorithm perturbation;
(c) curve generated by the initial algorithm; and (d) curve affected by a superimposed pattern according to the algorithm
perturbation as shown in (b).

loop shifts in a certain iteration (both the loop
length and the curve length remaining unaffected,
see Fig. 7(b)) imply loop size changes for the next
iterations. This happens because certain segment
lengths — on which the pattern generating algo-
rithm is applied recursively — are changed by the
loop shift.
3.2 Analysis of Synthetic Curves
The analysis of the scaling intervals heterogeneity
has been applied to the structures discussed above
according to the described methodology. Figure 8
presents several examples. It shows that correla-
tion sub-domains are present — albeit to a different
extent — in the case of synthetic curves too. The
isocorrelation maps offer a good perspective over
these intervals, highlighting the contrast between
different successive sub-domains. They are sig-
nalled either by long gulfs penetrating into the lower
correlation areas, like in Fig. 8(b) for n = 2, n = 6,
or n = 21, or by “channels” that completely sepa-
rate zones of lower correlation from each other, like
in Fig. 8(b) for n = 10 or in Fig. 8(f) for n = 7 . . . 8
 Heterogeneous Scaling Intervals 445

(a)

(b)
Fig. 8 Log-log plot examples and their isocorrelation maps for synthetic curves. (a) and (b), (e) and (f ): curves generated
according to the initial algorithm; (c) and (d), (g) and (h): superposition affected counterparts of the curves analyzed in
(a), (b) and in (e), (f ).
446 C. Suteanu & J. H. Kruhl

(c) (d)

(e) (f )

(g) (h)

Fig. 8 (Continued )

Table 1 Global evaluation for grain boundary curves (A, B, C and E) and for
synthetic curves (L, M and H; the suffix i denotes curves generated by the initial
algorithm, the suffix s refers to curves corresponding to the algorithm perturbed
by a superposed pattern, as described in Sec. 3.1).
Curve A B C E Li
a∗ 0.72 0.62 0.6 0.8 0.55
∗
Parameter corresponding to the global evaluation of the curves with respect to the presence
of scaling sub-domains, defined in Sec. 2.3.2.
and for n = 16 . . . 17. The contrast between the
sub-domains is underlined by the “depths” that sep-
arate them in the correlation landscape, represented
in the maps by darker colors corresponding to low
correlation.
Despite the difference concerning the details of
the various maps, a distinction can always be made
between curves produced by an algorithm using a
superimposed pattern, and curves generated by the
unperturbed algorithm. The change can be studied
in more detail on the isocorrelation maps. Exam-
ples can be seen in Fig. 8 [e.g. compare Fig. 8(b)
with Fig. 8(d), and Fig. 8(f) with Fig. 8(h)].
The curves that include the overlaying pattern
change in their generation algorithms emphasize
longer and more tightly correlated scaling intervals.
The isocorrelation maps clearly highlight these
aspects, which cannot be deduced from a conven-
tional fractal analysis. Table 1 presents results
obtained for a global evaluation according to the
method described above for grain boundary curves
(A . . . E) and for synthetic curves (L, M and H,
either in their initial version — suffix “i” — or cor-
responding to the algorithm perturbed by a super-
posed pattern — suffix “s”).
4. DISCUSSION
The proposed approach leads to a comparative per-
spective on the different types of curve geometry,
including the presence of correlation sub-domains.
From the point of view of synthetic curves, it
is striking in Table 1 that those curves based on
the superposition-affected algorithm always have
higher a-values than their unperturbed counter-
parts. From these values and from the corre-
sponding log(s) – log(L) graphs and the presented
correlation maps (Fig. 8) one can see that the
superposition led to the formation of sub-domains
of particularly good correlation, which is reflected
in the correlation landscapes.
Heterogeneous Scaling Intervals 447
Ls Mi Ms Hi Hs
0.67 0.45 0.81 0.63 0.81
From pairs like Ls − Li , Ms − Mi , Hs − Hi , one
can turn to the case of real grain boundary curves.
The highest a-value (0.8) is produced by the grain
boundary denoted with E (Fig. 2). For this grain
boundary, Kruhl and Nega6 had identified a process
of pattern overprinting: the geometry of a quartz
boundary from syntectonically crystallized granite
was changed during subsequent tectonic overprint
under greenschist facies conditions.
Other grain boundary profiles have lower a-values
(Table 1): the gradual decrease in their tendency to
emphasize scaling sub-domains (from A to B and C)
is not noticeable without a dedicated data process-
ing method (and is not signalled as such by Kruhl
and Nega6 ). However, the proposed methodology
allows a quantitative comparison capable of grasp-
ing fine differences between types of curve geometry.
It has to be emphasized that the presence of sub-
domains and the geometry properties described by
a cannot be predicted from the correlation coeffi-
cient r that corresponds to the linear regression in
log-log space. This is true although a and r are
not independent of each other (the value of r would
correspond to a corner of the correlation landscape,
i.e. for n equal to 1 and for m equal to the total num-
ber of points). Their connection would be signifi-
cant only for cases approaching an ideal correlation
(with an overall r coefficient equal to unity). This is
to say that, in principle, a high a-value can be pro-
duced either by the presence of very well correlated
sub-domains (as it happens in all the cases pre-
sented above), or by a close-to-ideal overall corre-
lation, which appears to be more rare in the case
of real structures. The source of a high a-value can
always be checked with the help of isocorrelation
maps: they show clearly whether we are dealing
with a set of sub-domains or with a homogeneous
scaling interval.
The results of an analysis concerning the scaling
interval heterogeneity also depend upon the applied
scale resolution. Therefore, a comparison-oriented
448 C. Suteanu & J. H. Kruhl
analysis should refer in all cases to the same scale
sampling resolution. On the other hand, in view of
a uniform reflection of sub-domains along the scale
intervals, a uniform covering of the scale range in
log-space is desirable, i.e. a power law distribution
of scale (step) values should be chosen.
Sometimes the size of the correlation sub-
domains and the difference in their exponents en-
able one to speak about “scaling regimes”.12–14
However, in many situations, the fractal analysis
cannot clearly emphasize such sub-domains. As
shown above, in studies concerning the geometry
of sutured grain boundaries, there are limitations
(mainly regarding the scale range) that directly im-
pede upon the possibility to distinguish different
scaling regimes. Moreover, even when scaling in-
tervals have a considerable extent, establishing the
boundary that separates them may include some-
times a subjective choice.
In circumstances when scaling regimes cannot
be clearly identified, the described approach offers
an objective perspective upon scaling sub-domains,
which can be evaluated globally and characterized
in detail.
5. CONCLUSIONS
Profiles corresponding to sutured quartz grain
boundaries emphasize not only a fractal character,
but also scaling sub-domains, i.e. scale ranges char-
acterized by a particularly good correlation in com-
parison to the other scale domains. In detail, these
scaling sub-domains may be of different size and dis-
tance to each other. Their correlation line may be
drastically inclined to the general trend of correla-
tion. Moreover, from this trend of correlation single
data points may clearly deviate. As a first step in
analyzing these properties of irregular curves, the
proposed approach offers an objective way of char-
acterizing scaling sub-domains and visualizing their
properties.
Although it is applicable for a wider variety of
cases, this type of investigation methodology was
especially designed for the study of geological mi-
crostructures, considering the particular features of
the data (Sec. 2.3).
The study showed that a pattern superposition,
acting on different scales, may lead to the emer-
gence of well-correlated scaling sub-domains, and
these can be highlighted with the help of the pro-
posed techniques.
Applied to a set of synthetic curves, the method-
ology emphasized the enhanced correlation intervals
produced by changes in the curve geometry due to
superimposed patterns.
From the real grain boundaries, the most signifi-
cant presence of sub-domains and the highest value
of the parameter a reflecting this curve property,
have been found in the case of a structure already
diagnosed by Kruhl and Nega6 to represent the re-
sult of an overprinting process.
While the parameter a proves to reflect well these
correlation intervals, an assessment concerning the
presence of the sub-domains and of their properties
can rely upon isocorrelation maps like those pro-
posed here.
The aspects concerning the detection of both
self-similarity and pattern superposition in the
geometry of grain boundaries are particularly im-
portant for the deciphering of microstructures of
crystalline material.6 Grain boundaries, specifically
of quartz but also of any other crystalline material,
migrate during crystal deformation above a certain
threshold temperature, dependent on the type of
the mineral. The resulting grain boundary geome-
try is mainly sensitive to temperature and may be
changed during subsequent deformation events ac-
tive at different temperatures. Consequently, grain
boundary patterns represent a useful source of infor-
mation on the tectonometamorphic history of rocks
as well as on the processing history of artificial ma-
terials. Any analysis in this direction has to be
based on a detailed characterization of grain bound-
ary patterns.
In this regard, in addition to the fractal dimen-
sions of grain boundaries, scaling domains, inves-
tigated in the present paper, appear to represent
another useful tool in analyzing the history of crys-
talline material.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
One of the authors (C.S.) gratefully acknowledges
the research fellowship offered by the German
Research Council (DFG; grant 436RUM17/6/01),
which enabled him to take part in this collaborative
research at the Technische Universität München,
Section Tectonics and Material Fabrics.
REFERENCES
1. R. H. Vernon, Metamorphic Processes (Allen &
Unwin, London, 1976), p. 166.

2. J.-P. Poirier and M. Guillopé, Bull. Mineralogie 102,
67 (1979).
3. J. H. Kruhl, Int. J. Earth Sci. 90, 104 (2001).
4. J. H. Kruhl and M. Peternell, J. Struct. Geol. (2001),
in press.
5. G. Voll, Habilitationsschrift (Fak Bergb Hüttenw,
TU Berlin, D83, 1969), p. 360.
6. J. H. Kruhl and M. Nega, Geol. Rundsch. 85, 38
(1996).
7. B. H. Kaye, A Random Walk Through Fractal
Dimensions (VCH, Weinheim, 1994).
8. M. Takahashi, H. Nagahama, T. Masuda and
A. Fujimura, J Struct. Geol. 20, 269 (1998).
9. J. Feder, Fractals (Plenum Press, New York, 1988).
Heterogeneous Scaling Intervals 449
10. D. Turcotte, Fractals and Chaos in Geology and Geo-
physics (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
1993).
11. J.-F. Gouyet, Physics and Fractal Structures
(Masson, Paris, 1996).
12. H. Mizutani, in Primitive Solar Nebula and Origin
of Planets, ed. H. Oya (Terra Scientific Publishing
Company, Tokyo, 1993), pp. 297–317.
13. C. Suteanu, F. Munteanu and D. Zugravescu, Rev.
Roum. Géophys. 41, 25 (1997).
14. C. Suteanu, D. Zugravescu and F. Munteanu,
in Fractal and Dynamic Systems in Geoscience,
eds. T. Blenkinsop, J. H. Kruhl and M. Kupkova
(Birkhäuser, Basel, 2000), pp. 539–557.