Remanent Magnetization Vector Direction and the Statistical Properties of Magnetic Anomalies *

Summary This is a study of the influence of the magnetization direction of the sources on the properties of the resulting magnetic anomalies. In the case of two‐dimensional surveys, the anisotropy which is caused by the non‐verticality of the magnetization is detected by the calculation and study of second order properties of the anomaly function. The method is applied to the Bay of Biscay and a discussion is presented of the influence of the presence of a pattern in the sources. In the case of one‐dimensional profiles across cylindrical structures, the second order properties do not depend on the dip of the magnetization and one needs to make use of the ‘shape factor”. This technique is demonstrated over a North Pacific ocean magnetic profile. The mathematical formalism used gives a clearer idea of the nature of the operation reduction to the pole.