Seneca Guns

The phenomenon of loud noises most similar to that of thunder or a cannon being shot is termed as Seneca Guns. It may induce tremors on land similar to earthquakes. As of now, the reason for the occurrence of Seneca Guns is unknown.

Key Points for UPSC Prelims

• Seneca Guns derives its name from the Lake Seneca in New York that witnessed Civil War battle and because the gun sounds are very commonly heard in the city.
• These sounds are often heard in the coastal areas and they are absent in the seas. These sounds have been heard prominently in the regions around North Carolina.
• They can very loud and have impacts like shaking and rattling of houses, damage to window panes, etc.

What Researchers say about Seneca Guns?

• To understand the mystery of Seneca Guns, the researchers compiled the previous data available with them dating back to 2013 and created a catalog of observations.
• This data was then compared with the data collected by the EarthScope Transportable Array.
• As the Seneca guns, sounds involve shaking; the data from the array was compared to find out if there were any earthquakes coinciding with the Seneca guns. After comparison, the researchers didn’t find any coinciding records which ruled out the earthquake being the cause of Seneca guns.
• Researchers have stated that the sound could be originated from a fast-approaching outer space object’s explosion once it enters the earth’s atmosphere or due to the crash of ocean waves. But none of the theories have been scientifically proved.

EarthScope Transportable Array

Launched in the year 2003, EarthScope Transportable Array is a network of 400 atmospheric sensors and seismographs. The array migrates between 1,700 locations in the continental US and collects localized seismic data. At present, the array is located in Alaska. It was installed in North Carolina between the years 2013 and 2015.