The Seneca guns, now known as the Seneca drums, were the subject of a study on the lake this September. The booming sounds at Seneca Lake are a true mystery of history. It was unclear what was making the noises that have been reported long before cannons and artillery were in the area. Now, we have a probable answer. Gas.
Two articles were out in late September from the local Ithaca, New York news media stating that researchers were pursuing the idea that methane “burps” were behind the booming sounds:
Lake floor anomalies that could be craters
The news pieces describe large divots in the lake bed that were discovered during a sonar survey last year. The number and size of the craters were surprising. Some 144 craters pockmarked the bottom for miles at the southern end of the lake. Some of the craters were huge. These craters were suspected to be related to the sounds. Researchers hypothesize that the divots are craters left behind when methane gas escaped from the subsurface. The release would have created a booming sound at the surface. This hypothesis was first proposed by Herman Fairchild, a co-founder of the Geological Society of America in 1934, inspired by thoughts from a local gas company engineer. The idea was difficult to test due to the randomness of the “burps”.
The lake has high chloride levels. Chloride is from briney water that is trapped deep underground topping gas and oil formations. Researcher are testing the water near the lake bed divots to see if they are still releasing higher levels of chloride or methane.
Their work was funded with a $12,700 grant from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the state’s Water Resources Institute. The mission, as explained by the agencies, is to “study recently discovered holes in the bottom of Seneca Lake to determine if they’re releasing methane and other chemicals that might explain the mysterious booming sounds heard on the lake for centuries.”
Booms have gone quiet
The guns/drums aren’t reported here as in the past. Why might that be? The methane gas idea might answer that. In the 1930s, gas extraction wells were developed. The extraction will have lessened the pressure on the pockets under the lake floor.
The water pressure itself also keeps the gas capped. It would be interesting to know if low water levels correlated with reported booms. I have not seen accounts of debris and mud ejected from the lake bed, which would occur if a methane bubble burst. Such bursts can be dangerous to those nearby, mainly because it temporarily displaces breathable air and is flammable. So it’s a good thing they don’t occur here (anymore?). There was an old story of a fisherman who lit a match while on the lake in 1903. An explosion knocked him and his boat clear to shore and he was injured.
Lake guns
One comment in the first article was wrong. The author says this “happens at Seneca Lake, and seemingly no where else in the world.” Mystery booms on lakes, bays or coastlines are known worldwide and called “water guns”. For centuries, people have heard mystery booms travel across the water surface. These Seneca guns are one of the most famous, even lending their name to those that occur in other places. The latest article, in the NY Times on October 8, clarifies that lake guns are known the world over.
James Fenimore Cooper described the phenomena in his 1850 short story “The Lake Gun,” writing, “It is a sound resembling the explosion of a heavy piece of artillery that can be accounted for by none of the known laws of nature.” – Source NY Times
Witnessing the giant bubbles
The NY Times piece detailed the story of Jim Mead, a local who witnessed a 3 ft wide bubble rise out of Seneca Lake some 30 years ago and it made a big noise. To me, this is the clincher for Seneca Lake’s secret noisemaker. It’s gas bubbles. The sounds then travel over the water surface and echo in the glacial valleys.
The gas bubble booms present at this location don’t necessarily explain all water “guns”. But this collection of evidence sure goes a long way in providing a sound conclusion. The test results from the research project will take many months to analyze and write up. I’ll be waiting. This is is really awesome work to uncover an answer to a historical natural mystery.
For more on water guns and other mystery booms, see this comprehensive feature post: Mystery Booms and Skyquakes.
Do three-foot sized bubbles make more or a different noise to smaller bubbles? I think the biggest I’ve seen was about a foot across and it didn’t make a great deal of noise at all. But then I’m not a bubble expert.😇
Why would anyone expect bubbles coming to the surface to make a loud noise? That makes no sense at all.
When the bubble pops it breaks the surface water tension. And the compressed air that is released creates a pressure wave.
It may not be a bubble’s bursting that causes the sound, but whatever process led to its release. If it could put big holes in the bottom of the lake it must be a rather energetic process.
I’m tempted to agree. If the gas is forming “blisters” on the lake bed the sudden escape of gas is going to leave a void. If the tons(?) of mud and rock that form the skin of the blister suddenly collapse into that void, that’s going to be pretty energetic.
Forgot to mention that the sound of water bubbles bursting is actually rather high pitched – around 700 cps IIRC under standard conditions. It is called the Minnaert frequency, and is basically the source of the sound of gurgling stream.
Great stuff Sharon!