turn nay be related to the distribution of polymetalllc sulphide miner- 

 als formed In association with hydro thermal vents. 



The ability to quantify the anlsotropy of the sea floor also Intro- 

 duces Interesting possibilities for geological Investigation. The dis- 

 tribution and trend of these measurements provides a new tool for the 

 quantitative Investigation of deep-sea processes In various environ- 

 ments. Also the relationship between sea-floor spreading rate and 

 roughness, long assumed qualitatively, could be quantified and analyzed 

 In terms of the operative geological processes. 



Finally, the author hopes that this study represents more than sim- 

 ply a study of sea-floor roughness. Much effort has been made to pre- 

 sent an approach to modelling natural phenomena which could be applied 

 to a wide variety of problems In the natural sciences. As most disci- 

 plines within the earth sciences represent a marriage of one of the 

 "pure" sciences to the study of the earth, this study represents a 

 crossing of natural science with engineering statistical methods. Very 

 little such work has been done .by earth scientists In the past, perhaps 

 because the earth is rarely as well ordered as the controlled labora- 

 tories of the chemist or physicist. Due to the natural variability of 

 the phenomena under study, the geologist's attempt to describe the earth 

 quantitatively is particularly difficult. It is hoped that the approach 

 and philosophy presented in this attempt will be of use to future 

 investigators. 



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