Palaeomagaetic Poles from Marine Magnetic Anomalies

A method is presented for determining palaeomagnetic poles from the skewness of marine magnetic anomalies. The skewness of a magnetic anomaly is measured by a phase parameter, θ. θ by itself is not sufficient to determine a unique palaeomagnetic pole. Instead θ defines a semi-great circle of possible palaeomagnetic poles. Two semi-great circles determined for two sets of contemporaneous anomalies on a rigid plate intersect to give the actual palaeomagnetic pole. θ is determined by using linear filtering techniques to de-skew observed marine magnetic anomaly profiles. A locus of palaeomagnetic poles also can be determined from the amplitude ratios of two sets of contemporaneous anomalies on the same rigid plate.