Barisal guns explained

Barisal guns or fog guns (mistpoeffers (fog dissipators) in Belgium and Netherlands, Seeschießen (sea/lake gunshots) in Germany, brontidi (thunder-like) or baturlio marinas in Italy) are a series of loud booms heard near the Barisal region of East Bengal (currently in Bangladesh) in the 19th century.^{[1] [2]} There are various theories about the origin of the sound. One common explanation is that it was caused by the sound of waves, broken up by local topography,^[3] but geological origins have also been proposed.^[3] The sound is an example of a skyquake – an unexplained sudden loud sound without corresponding earthquake activity. Similar sounds have been reported in many waterfront communities around the world such as the Ganges Delta and Brahmaputra River delta in Bangladesh, the East Coast and inland Finger Lakes of the United States, as well as areas of the North Sea,^[4] the lakes of southern Germany,^{[5] [6]} Japan and Italy; and sometimes away from water, for example, in the American midwest where they have been attributed to cold temperature.^[7]

The unexplained source of the phenomenon has drawn mystical interpretations, for example in Theosophical writings.^[8]

References

1. See:
   • Bysack . Bábu Gour Doss . The antiquities of Bagarhat . Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal . 1867 . 36 . 81–82 . See p. 82.
   • Rainey . H. James . Letter from H. James Rainey, Esq., Zemindar of Khulna, Jessore, addressed to Henry F. Blanford, Esq. . Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal . August 1870 . 39 . 243–251 .
   • Pellew . Fleetwood H. . Barisal guns . Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal . November 1870 . 39 . 289–290 .
   • Rainey . H.J. . Barisal guns . Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal . November 1870 . 39 . 290–291 .
   • Scott . George B. . Barisal guns . Nature . 2 January 1896 . 53 . 197 .
2. LaTouche . T.D. . On the sounds known as the 'Barisal Guns,' occurring in the Gangetic delta . Report of the Sixtieth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science . 1890 . 60 . 800 .
3. Book: Krehl, Peter O.. History of Shock Waves, Explosions and Impact: A Chronological and Biographical Reference. 2008 . Springer . 9783540304210. Berlin and Heidelberg, Germany . 350. 932632748.
4. Darwin . George Howard . "Barisal guns" and "mist pouffers" . Nature . 31 October 1895 . 52 . 650 . 10.1038/052650a0 . 4005208 . free .
5. Krauss . Friedrich . Über das Seeschießen . Blätter des Schwäbischen Albvereins . 1904 . 16 . 75–78, 144–146, 170–174 . About Barisal guns . de. Available at: Blätter des Schwäbischen Albvereins – online (Search term: Seeschießen)
6. Zeppelin . Eberhard . Zum sogenannten "Seeschießen" . Schriften des Vereins für Geschichte des Bodensees und seiner Umgebung [Writings of the Association for the History of the Bodensee and its Environs] . 1896 . 25 . 30–68 . On the so-called "sea / lake gunshots" . de.
7. https://www.usgs.gov/programs/earthquake-hazards/earthquake-booms-seneca-guns-and-other-sounds Earthquake Booms, Seneca Guns, and Other Sounds, usgs.gov, 2024-05-17
8. Book: Lucifer. Theosophical Publishing Company. 1890. 289–291. en.