Comment on “Stacking marine magnetic anomalies: A critique” by Robert L. Parker

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Abstract
Noise in marine magnetic anomalies becomes significant at wavelengths below about 3 km. Stacking (or averaging) together reasonable numbers of marine profiles in order to enhance two‐dimensional anomalies at the expense of noise does not appreciably reduce this critical wavelength. It is shown, however, that such short wavelengths are of negligible importance to the waveform of the anomaly and that, if the noise is random, stacking substantially improves the anomaly‐to‐noise ratio for longer wavelengths. For non‐random noise, such as two‐dimensional topographic features, it is essential to compare data from widely separated regions to discern actual paleofield changes recorded by the ocean crust.