Weird sounds at night, military? navy?

[statickid]

Howdy folks,

We have this local "mystery" that most in the area are stumped over. While it has been confirmed (?) to be related to some kind of training or testing activity for the military or navy, thats about as specific as it gets. Here is my description I posted for the local newspaper who is collecting comments:

"Here in Carlsborg we've been hearing it in the evenings, usually between 7-10pm or so. It is not very loud but EXTREMELY low frequency. We sense/feel/hear it over the TV (usually turned up pretty loud) and then have turned off the sound but strangely can't really hear it any better regardless of the TV sound. It seems to turn on and off at intervals. Definitely not aircraft of anything like that. Turns on for about 3-5 seconds and then off like someone flicking a switch on and off. What is it???"

and here is a link to last years story:
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130823/NEWS/308239978

The only thing is nobody says what it is actually making the sound/vibration.

I know some of you folks may have some kind of insight into possibilities of what this might be? This is probably a 50 mile radius experiencing the vibrations, and it's definitely not aircraft as it turns off and on with a very steady frequency that doesn't change, that is it doesn't diminish OR amplify. Any ideas??

 

[Proximus]

Can you feel any vibration/hum if you are in contact with a solid object (window etc...) when the bursts occur? :blink:

 

[Scav]

This strikes me very uncannily like the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taos_Hum"]Taos Hum[/ame]. . .

 

[astrosammy]

:blink: So it doesn't sound like a neighbour using a hammer? I often am so close to yell at them just to find out it's the British Army having fun in the Senne (military training area some 20 kilometers away from here).

 

[Urwumpe]

Maybe Porichthys notatus....

 

[BruceJohnJennerLawso]

Maybe some sort of seismic activity? The Seattle-Vancouver area is way over due for a major Earthquake and/or Tsunami event, although this doesn't sound much like one...

 

[statickid]

Proximus-if it comes again, I'll put my hand on the window.

Scav-very similar except for the tinnitus explanations. The mechanical source is the suspect here... Also very interesting!

Urwumpe-incredible! Never heard of those but the pattern isn't quite right. Also our place is about 3 miles from the water and 300ft elevation.

BruceJohnJennerLawso-maybe sometimes this would account, but this seems very artificial in nature with the on/off and patterned quality. Also it sounds like *someone* confirmed naval technology, but that was as specific as they got.


I was really hoping maybe someone had heard of our had experience with some kind of technology that might have this effect. There are TONS of military bases in this area, some are rather secretive and look pretty strange on Google earth. I'm not some conspiracy theorist but I wouldn't rule out some kind of odd technology. We have air force bases, Boeing, army, and a full array of navy stuff here in Washington. I've been stopped at the bridge while 5 big submarines and their escorts chug by. I was thinking maybe some kind of seismic imaging? Water based vibration sensing? We also have Canadian navy here too... :hmm: the limited time frame definitely seems unnatural, also I KNOW it's not just me, when it happens everyone in the living room agrees that it's happening

 

[Melvin]

Does it only happen at night?


Perhaps some new form of "Not so ELF" technology?

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_low_frequency"]Extremely low frequency - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

 

[statickid]

It seems to only be in the evening after dark, but that could just be something to do daytime ambient noise... :shrug:

Can radio waves generate physical vibrations?

---------- Post added at 06:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:44 PM ----------

Oh yeah and astrosammy it's not so much a pound, boom, or rapping, it's like a deep, quiet, rumble.

 

[boogabooga]

Fracking?

 

[Hielor]

Article now has a "letter to the editor" saying that it's naval exercises. For the record, I live not far from Seattle (~15mi east/inland) and have never noticed anything of the sort.

 

[statickid]

Yeah Heilor, that's what I mean when I say it sounds like *SOMEONE* around here knows what it is. I've never heard it in Seattle either, only out here on the peninsula. It's just that even though they identified the navy as a source, nobody says exactly what they are doing to create the noise. I was thinking that maybe some of the folks here on the forum familiar with military equipment might know what it is, unless of course they aren't at liberty to divulge such information... :hmm:

---------- Post added at 07:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 PM ----------

They even identify the base that is allegedly responsible

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Any sound clips? I can't seem to find one in the posted article...

I know first hand that the turboprop engines on C-130s and P-3s can carry a long way; I'm about 10 miles from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, and can routinely hear them spooling up for takeoff when the weather is just right. Same thing with the local Union Pacific rail yard in Roseville.
Both have very particular sounds that are easy to ID if you know what to listen for... But I have no idea what might be causing the on/off cycle you describe.

 

[Urwumpe]

Can radio waves generate physical vibrations?

Yes. Especially old radar was famous to induce sounds in the wiring of buildings.

Guess what: Such old radar is rarely used today. Modern one has a more complex pulse pattern and is rarely noticed unless you stand on the deck of a warship.

 

[statickid]

Is it possible that something simple like shelling might cause long range ground vibrations? Seeing as a mortar explosion would produce a wide range of frequencies, is it possible that only a narrow band of them are able to reach my house? I'm thinking something like acoustic resonance where only a handful of frequencies generated are able to travel the distance to my house through the specific rock strata. Or if it's water based explosions, maybe it's a frequency that transfers from water to land very efficiently?

---------- Post added at 02:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:06 AM ----------

MaverickSawyer-there only seems to be reports with no recordings. However, it does NOT sound like the simulated Taos hum sounds. Also it isn't constant. I wonder if my micro recorder would pick it up...

 

[Urwumpe]

Is it possible that something simple like shelling might cause long range ground vibrations? Seeing as a mortar explosion would produce a wide range of frequencies, is it possible that only a narrow band of them are able to reach my house? I'm thinking something like acoustic resonance where only a handful of frequencies generated are able to travel the distance to my house through the specific rock strata. Or if it's water based explosions, maybe it's a frequency that transfers from water to land very efficiently?

Very doubtful. I have heard artillery fire just a few hundred meters away from my place, and it was more likely a short Earthquake. You didn't really hear it, you felt it.

if you have sound reaching a boundary where the speed of sound changes a lot, like from water to rock, most of the energy will be reflected and only a small amount will enter and be refracted - on the other hand, wet mud would absorb most sound waves since it is only a small change in the speed of sound.

So, water based explosions are pretty unlikely.

What could be a candidate, would be geophone soundings during the search for natural resources, those are directly transmitted into the ground and can focus on some selected places if the geology is right.

Those trucks are usually used to transmit a single impulse into the ground, which could then return as a longer rumble.

But it would be really really silent.

 

[Ghostrider]

We're all gonna die.

 

[Urwumpe]

What I wonder... could this sound maybe be recorded with home-made geophones, using either an old mobile phone or a raspberry? If you could record the sound from multiple places, it could be possible to tell more about the source.

 

[statickid]

On a side note I was heading down by the water one day and heard the craziest sound coming out of the water. Sounded like a boat trying to turn over a cold engine, and it was so loud I thought they are about to run aground, but no boats we around. There was these two old dudes standing on the beach struck up a conversation about my waders and asking me about red tide. Then I think I commented on the sound and they said "Oh that's just the Canadians firing volleys into the water." They said they've been doing it for years. Then they told me about how they even shot a practice round right into the school!!!!! It's hard to find much information on this but I did find some information fragments.

http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/16285124/

So thats pretty nutty. Lucky nobody got hurt I guess.

 

[Keatah]

Cool thread. Here's one for you. I can hear people vibrating. If I go into a bathroom I can immediately tell you if there is someone in there or not. They can be standing still holding their breath. Makes no difference.