[meteorite-list] Possible Sonic Boom Causes Alarm in Scotland

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Jan 9 12:48:04 2006
Message-ID: <200601091744.k09HiV312659_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.thisisnorthscotland.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=149664&command=displayContent&sourceNode=149490&contentPK=13794100&folderPk=85696

MYSTERY BANG CAUSES ALARM IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES
TOM KIRK
This Is North Scotland
07 January 2006

A Mystery noise, suspected to have been a sonic boom, sent shock waves
through communities along a stretch of Aberdeenshire coastline yesterday.

The sound, described as a loud, two-part bang above ground level, shook
windows and tiles and prompted several calls to the police.

People in Cove, Portlethen and Stonehaven heard the noise at about
11.25am, variously describing it as like a quarry blast, gas explosion
or firework.

But other people, who in some cases were only in the next room, heard
nothing. Police are still unsure what caused the sound.

It is thought it may have been a sonic boom, which is the sound made by
the shock wave created when an aircraft or missile passes through the
sound barrier.

Sonic booms are often heard as a double-bang, which was reported by some
people yesterday.

They also tend to cause windows to shatter. But that did not happen
yesterday - and the RAF said there were no military aircraft active nearby.

Harry Roulston, 63, of Stonehaven, was on Portlethen golf course when he
heard two very loud noises in quick succession.

"I had just come off the 18th green and we were marking our scorecards,"
he said.

"There was suddenly this terrific noise like something really heavy falling.

"It didn't sound as if it was an earthquake. It was quite a physical noise.

"When I came back to Stonehaven I dropped in at the golf club there and
as soon as I went in there were four guys who all said 'Did you hear
that noise?'"

Muriel Thomson was working in the shop at Portlethen Golf Club and said
the windows had shaken.

"We didn't know what it was," she said.

"It sounded to me like it was coming from Cove. The glass in the windows
definitely shook and we thought for a minute something had hit the shop."

Staff at Portlethen Academy reported what sounded like a large object
falling, while a group of builders working on a property off Muirend
Road also heard a bang.

Staff at Michies Chemist in Portlethen described what they thought was a
"big firework".

Another woman, who lives just a short distance away, reported something
much bigger, like a quarry blast.

"It felt as though the roof was going to come off," she said.

"I could feel the tiles on the roof shaking.

"It was like a solid boom and I felt a faint pressure round my head."

Despite police suggestions that it was a sonic boom, a spokesman for RAF
Kinloss said they were not aware of any military aircraft having been
active in the area.

"Our pilots are told not to break the sound barrier," he added.

"Normally if that happened every pane of glass within a 25-mile radius
of the source would be liable to break.

"Often these things turn out to be quarry blasts."

Police, however, contacted local quarries as they attempted to find the
cause.

They told officers there had been no significant blast.

Officers were sent to check the affected areas but found no signs of an
emergency.

The spokeswoman added there was no apparent threat to the public,
although the incident is being kept open until police are satisfied
there was no explosion.

The British Geological Survey in Edinburgh said there had been no
seismic activity but did suggest the possibility of a sonic boom.

Grampian Fire and Rescue Service sent a unit to Portlethen but found no
evidence of there having been a problem.

Aberdeen coastguards also reported no emergency.

-----------------------------------------------------

Your Views

I heard the noise, and felt the shock whilst working in our testing
facility, effectively one end of a large warehouse. There was a definite
change in air pressure - I felt the shock in my chest as well as through
my feet. The warehouse walls rattled at the same time as the ground
shook.I first thought that something had been dropped on our mezzanine
storgae level, but when I realised that was not the case, I decided it
had to have come from outside. Working in the middle of a large
industrial estae it was easy just to assume that someone had dropped
something big (and probably expensive!!) and gave it little further
thought.Having encountered sonic booms in the past, as well as quarry
balsts, I felt this was more 'intense' - it was a much 'deeper' boom,
and seemed to have come 'from the ground up'.I would be interested to
know if anything was recorded on any local seismographs.
Niall Saunders, Badentoy, Portlethen
Received on Mon 09 Jan 2006 12:44:30 PM PST