Abstract
Over the Earth's surface, hot spots have an irregular distribution which does not appear to be completely random. Statistical analyses of distribution are compared for two hot spot data sets, one set of 42 and the other of 117. Three approaches are taken: 1) chi-square tests of equal area boxes, 2) cumulative distributions about principal axes and 3) construction of a density function. These methods all indicate that hot spots have a non-uniform distribution, even if statistical fluctuations are considered. To the first order, hot spots are concentrated on one half of the surface area of the Earth; within that portion, the distribution is uniform. A prediction of hot spot density is made based on an empirical model relating the number of hot spots to plate speed. However, observed hot spot densities for neither data set can be explained solely by plate speed.-W.H.B.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 9919-9925 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Geophysical Research |
| Volume | 89 |
| Issue number | B12 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 1984 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geophysics
- Oceanography
- Forestry
- Aquatic Science
- Ecology
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Water Science and Technology
- Soil Science
- Geochemistry and Petrology
- Earth-Surface Processes
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Polymers and Plastics
- Atmospheric Science
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Space and Planetary Science
- Materials Chemistry
- Palaeontology