Is there a relationship between solar activity and earthquakes?

Several statistical studies have suggested a connection between solar and geomagnetic activity, and seismicity. Some studies claim there are global effects, relating solar activity, for instance, with earthquake occurrence on the Earth. Other studies intend to find effects on a local scale, where perturbations in the geomagnetic activity are followed by seismic events. We intend to investigate this issue by means of a surrogates method. First, we analyze the statistical validity of reported correlations between the number of sunspots and the annual number of earthquakes during the last century. On the other hand, in relation to local geomagnetic variations prior to an important earthquake, we carry out a study of the magnetic field fluctuations using the SAMBA array in a window of two years centered in the February 27th, 2010 M = 8.8 earthquake at Chile. We expect these studies to be useful in order to find measurable precursors before an important seismic event.