Some characteristics of geomagnetic reversals inferred from detailed volcanic records

The transitional virtual geomagnetic poles (VGPs) of the five most detailed records lie within the longitudinal bands of America, western Europe and eastern Asia. This distribution does not support the hypothesis of a direct link with heterogeneities of the lower mantle underneath Americas and eastern Asia. A similar distribution of VGPs persists by adding less detailed records and show similarities with the distribution of maximum inclination anomalies predicted by time-averaged field models. However, the two databases are far too limited to infer any recurrence of non-dipole components during reversals. Clusters of VGPs are observed in most records at various geographical locations without preference for specific longitudes, which most likely result from intense volcanism during short time periods rather than from transitional dipolar states.