Analysis of palaeomagnetic inclination data

Abstract

Summary The analysis of palaeomagnetic data where only inclinations are available is considered. Maximum likelihood estimates for the mean inclination I0 and Fisher's precision parameter k are derived. It is shown that they are in all cases biased although the bias is small for low inclinations. The case of steep inclinations and small values of k is examined and it is shown that in this region I0 and k are not separable as distinct variables, because the lack of declination information in this region leads to fundamental ambiguities. Unbiased estimates for I0 and (1/k) are derived for the case where the portion of the distribution folded about the vertical is insubstantial. A worked example of the method, with calculation of confidence limits, is appended. Copyright © 1982, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved