Feasibility of a synchronized correlation between Hawaiian hot spot volcanism and geomagnetiC polarity

If a correlation existed between the volcanic eruptive activity of the Hawaiian–Emperor chain and the Earth's magnetic field it would be a very important evidence of a link between outer core convection to Earth surface phenomena. In the quantitative definition of the problem, the main difficulty is the scarcity of reliable data. A careful scrutiny of the available data shows that a statistical study is possible only for the last 7.2 million years. In order to obtain a meaningful answer we apply two independent statistical tests related to the validity of the following hypotheses: a) the probability of occurrence of volcanic events is independent of polarity; b) the volume of the erupted material is independent of polarity. We find no evidence supporting the existence of a correlation between eruptive activity and geomagnetic polarity and hence there is no evidence for a direct link between the core and surface phenomena. © 1990 by the Chinese Geophysical Society