Crop formations and physics

Dear readers

In December 1973, Adelaide based researchers Keith Basterfield and Garry Little investigated seven, circular, flattened, swirled areas in an oat paddock near Bordertown in South Australia. The sizes of the marks ranged from 2.1 to 4.6 metres in diameter. The oats had been swirled in an anti-clockwise direction. No explanation put forward, satisfactorily explained the marks. However, Keith noted that a real-life, rare tornado had passed through the area some two weeks before the farmer found the circles, suggesting that, perhaps, there was a meteorological explanation. This was years before English researcher Terence Meaden raised the meteorological possibility for UK crop circles.

Move forward to 2011 and once again science is taking a look at the subject of crop circles. The 4 August 2011 issue of physics world.com carried an article covering the research of Richard Taylor of the University of Oregon, in the USA.

After providing a brief history of pre-1980's circles; Taylor outlines the meteorological approach of Terence Meaden, which evolved into electromagnetic-hydrodynamic 'plasma vortexes.'

Taylor goes on to relate the 1991 work of astronomer Gerard Hawkins, who, after analysing 25 crop formations believed he had uncovered 'construction lines.'

Noting that recent crop circles are extremely complex, Taylor automatically assumes they are man made. He poses the question "...how do you imprint patterns in crops that are a challenge even to draw on paper?"

"One such team is known as the circlemakers, and when - in a rare breach of security - it allowed BBC filmmakers to document its construction of a 100 circle roulette pattern in 1998, team members were observed physically implanting circles at the remarkable rate of one every minute."

Taylor then goes on to say that "There are further signs that traditional imprinting techniques are reaching their limits."

"If artists want to maintain the movement's secrecy and anonymity it is clear that they will need to exploit more efficient construction methods."

Taylor moves on to 'Biophysical speculations,' covering the work of Eltjo Haselhoff, "a medical physicist' and William Levengood, a biophysicist. "Levengood interpreted his results as evidence of Meaden's plasma vortex theory, while Haselhoff proposed that the sources of radiation were the mysterious balls of light that some observers have reported hovering over formation sites.

Then Taylor poses a question. "Might some artists therefore be supplementing physical implantation with mircowaves?" Intriguingly, he says, a group of crop circle enthusiasts called the BLT Research team claims to be able to replicate the observed changes to crop pulvini using 30s exposures to microwaves generated by magnetrons from readily available microwave ovens."

Taylor's full article may be read at (click here - you will need to register on the site.)

Australian crop formations

Hi readers

Well, Spring is in the air in Adelaide, and I have been taking a look at the net, for material dealing with Australian crop formations.

The best data I found was actually material gathered together by my co-blogger, Keith Basterfield. It can be found at http://www.project1947.com/kbcat/kbtrace0505.htm

It is a catalogue of over 100 Australian cases where physical traces were found. These traces range from disturbed plants, damaged trees, to circles in crops. The date range is between 1927 and 2004. The association with the UFO phenomenon varies between direct and implied.

It we look for events which are similar to the basic English crop "circle" we find entries such as:

Dec 1973 Bordertown SA (Latitude 36:18, Longitude 140:46)

Seven circular shaped, flattened swirled areas were found in an oat paddock. They ranged from 2.1-4.6m across and were of different ages. Oats had been swirled anti-clockwise. The police forensic squad were unable to explain the marks.
(UFORSA)

Nov 2001 Tandarra Vic

Mr Donald White was moving sheep when he discovered a number of circular marks in his wheat crop. James Kennedy of AUFORN visited the site and found that "The actual wheat was 'combed' in an anti-clockwise direction." The stems of the wheat had not snapped. "In the middle of the majority of circles there was differentiating amounts of untouched wheat growth." There were one group of three circles basically adjoined and another circle was very close to a fence line, and completely flattened. All the circles were at least 2m in diameter.
(Kennedy, J. 2001. "Tandarra Crop Circles. The Australasian UFOlogist. Vol 5 No 5 pp8-10.)

There is even a relatively large formation, found in Adelaide:

Dec 1994 Northfield, Adelaide, SA (34:56, 134:36)

A 15.3m diameter, swirled, flattened circle with run-offs at each end was found in a wheat paddock in suburban Adelaide. The stalks had been flattened in an anti-clockwise direction in the main circle. Information to hand suggests it was a hoax.
(1. M & K Maros.
2. K Basterfield personal investigation.
3. Adelaide Advertiser 15/12/94, 17/12/94, 22/12/94.)


However, looking through the entire listing, there is nothing remotely like the complex formations reported from the United Kingdom over the last 10-15 years. Nothing at all, which is very surprising given the vast quantity of land in Australia devoted to wheat production alone.

What could this lack of complex Australian crop formations tell us? Perhaps:

1. the crop formatiopn phenomenon avoids Australia for some reason, because the crop formation phenomenon is not really a global phenomenton?
2. That hoaxing crop formations is not in the Australian psyche?
3. some other reason that I cannot think of?

Dear readers, have you any ideas?