The Seneca guns, now known as the Seneca drums, are the subject of a study on the lake this September. The booming sounds at Seneca Lake are a true mystery of history. It’s unclear what is making the noises that have been reported long before cannons and artillery were in the area.

Two new articles are out this past week from the local Ithaca, New York news media:

• Working to unravel the mystery behind the explosive sound of the ‘Seneca Drums’

• Researchers take samples from Seneca Lake in effort to figure out what causes the ‘Seneca Drums’

Lake floor anomalies that could be craters

The news pieces describe large divots in the lake bed that were recently discovered that may 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. The article notes that 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. Positive results may suggest an answer, but questions will undoubtedly remain.

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?).

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.

For more on water guns and other mystery booms, see this comprehensive feature post: Mystery Booms and Skyquakes.