  We propose a new method for (global) Hurst exponent determination based on
wavelets. Using this method, we analyze synthetic data with predefined Hurst
exponents, fracture surfaces and data from economy. The results are compared
with those obtained from Fourier spectral analysis. When many samples are
available, the wavelet and Fourier methods are comparable in accuracy. However,
when one or only a few samples are available, the wavelet method outperforms
the Fourier method by a large margin.

Materials Science