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Statistical assessment of the preferred longitudinal bands for recent geomagnetic reversal records
Author(s) -
Laj C.,
Mazaud A.,
Weeks R.,
Fuller M.,
HerreroBervera E.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/92gl02164
Subject(s) - earth's magnetic field , series (stratigraphy) , geology , polarity (international relations) , probability distribution , distribution (mathematics) , statistical analysis , statistical physics , statistics , geodesy , climatology , geophysics , physics , mathematics , paleontology , magnetic field , mathematical analysis , genetics , quantum mechanics , biology , cell
Records of recent polarity reversals recorded in sediments show a preponderance of transitional VGP's situated in the longitudinal sector over the Americas and, to a lesser extent, over its antipode. A series of tests based on the methods of circular statistics show that this distribution is not consistent with the statistical fluctuations of a random probability distribution. The longitudinal bias in the distribution, therefore, requires a physical explanation.