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A Small Circle of Best Fit for Spherical Data and Areas of Vulcanism
Author(s) -
Mardia K. V.,
Gadsden R. J.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of the royal statistical society: series c (applied statistics)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.205
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9876
pISSN - 0035-9254
DOI - 10.2307/2346963
Subject(s) - statistics , mathematics
Summary The paper sets out to investigate a statistical problem in the geophysical field of plate tectonics which amounts to obtaining a small circle of best fit in some sense. We define a small circle of best fit. Using the maximum entropy principle, an appropriate distribution is constructed, leading to the setting up of a confidence zone for this small circle. Finally, detailed analyses for a set of data in the field of plate tectonics and for a set of data concerning secular variation of the palaeomagnetic field are given.