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Published online 26 November 2003 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news031124-4

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Coastline carve thyself

Theory accounts for land's fractal fringes.

The beauty of jagged, rocky coastlines will prevail, however hard the sea pounds them. The classic coastal profile is a balance between the sea's eroding power and the ability of the coastline to damp it out, say researchers in France and Italy.

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