Low humming engine noise in the middle of nowhere...

It has been a long time since I posted to this site, but a camping trip last night has motivated me to post once more... this might be in the wrong forum, but I am happy for mods to move it if needs be.

I decided to go camping with friends on the coast of Northeast England (UK) yesterday. About 54° North - two miles north of the nearest town.

The place I camped at doesn't have a name, because it isn't close enough to anywhere to have a name. It is a secluded beach in a bay at the bottom of cliffs. In order to get down to the beach there is quite a trek and a climb down the cliffs through some quite dense plant life - wearing shorts and trying to walk through nettles is certainly an experience to learn from...

So, there were four people in my party. We had two tents between us, a few beers and that's about it.

Because this location is a bay, and far from anywhere, there is no signal for mobile phones (pure bliss). It is also far enough from civilisation that you can see stars at night. Lots and lots of stars.

We often see ships on the distant horizon and once or twice have seen aircraft high in the sky, during the day and at night. Other than seeing these vehicles in the distance it is normally totally silent apart from the waves or our conversations.

Last night, however, was very different. We all went to sleep at around midnight and I took one last look at all the stars in the crystal clear sky before zipping my tent closed. It was very peaceful, the sky was as clear as it has ever been and the tide was going out. I was asleep in no time.

At around 3am I woke up after becoming conscious of what sounded like an engine idling. It didn't sound particularly close, but was certainly close enough that I could tell it wasn't moving relative to where I was.

After half an hour it still hadn't moved, so I poked my head out of my tent to see if I could hear it better. The sky was still very clear, there was nothing on the horizon in terms of shipping, and the sky was full of nothing but stars. Once outside my tent, it seemed like the noise was all around me. I couldn't tell what direction the sounds was coming from.

The person I was sharing a tent with woke up when I unzipped the tent and they said they could also hear the noise, but couldn't explain it.

It is worth pointing out that this beach is nowhere near any roads, the railway line that used to be near it was taken up decades ago, and the closest building is over half a mile away with no direct line between the beach and itself for any sound to travel. On the cliff above the beach there are open fields. When we walked back to civilisation that morning there was no evidence that any farming activities were going on through the night either.

All very strange. Then I remembered reading about a place somewhere in the Americas where residents of a town have complained for years of what seems to be an engine idling away that no one has been able to find or explain...

Has anyone else ever experienced this phenomenon, or anything like It? Where were you and was it day/night?

Sound can bounce off the waves on the water and travel for miles. There was a canoeist in the USA who was found guilty by a judge for using offensive language. The person who overheard him was 1/4 mile away.

a reply to: dampnickers

It could be the ship engines you hear where i live we have tow boats and you can hear
them from miles away at night!

Yes, I often hear or aware of a low frequency humming sound. Never in the day, only at night. I first recall being aware of it several years ago when living in NW England. I now live in the SW and still hear it. I live in the countryside so it's not distant traffic. This phenomenon is fairly well documented and does seem to be a global event. Your camping spot sounds awesome btw

a reply to: dampnickers

All very strange. Then I remembered reading about a place somewhere in the Americas where residents of a town have complained for years of what seems to be an engine idling away that no one has been able to find or explain...

Has anyone else ever experienced this phenomenon, or anything like It? Where were you and was it day/night?

You are referring to the Taos hum of Taos New Mexico. Yes I have heard the hum all over the 4 corners region. A few years ago while camping in the San Luis valley of so. Colorado, the whole camper seemed to be vibrating.

a reply to: VividestSum93

I had thought about the possibility of the noise being shipping.

The reason I discounted it was there wasn't any shipping (at least none with lights) to be seen anywhere, and the sound wasn't moving. As the tide was going out and there are quite strong currents I would have expected the noise to be moving either toward or away from me....

a reply to: dampnickers

Yeah I don't know if they would run with
Their lights or if their allowed to.
You might check google earth to see
If there are operational mines nearby.

Although im just guessing!

a reply to: VividestSum93

As far as I know, all powered vessels must display certain lights at night.

The nearest mine is over twenty -five miles to the north of where I was. I hadn't thought about a mine though... I am sure there is a rational explanation, it's just a matter of working it out.

a reply to: dampnickers

Yeah with terrain you described you Wouldn't hear that mine not at 25 miles anyway!

a reply to: olaru12

That's the place!

It is interesting that one of the guys in the video says he could hear it in buildings but when he went outside it would go away.

I had just the tent around me and there was no discernable change to the sound inside or out. It just seemed to be coming from all directions and was very low....

Where is it illegal in the us to use offensive language?a reply to: stormcell

a reply to: dampnickers

G'day, may I suggest it might have been a diesel/electric submarine using a snorkel to charge the batteries. I have had experience of this while early one morning on the cliffs of the south coast of NSW Australia, fishing.

Sounded like an engine and as the dawn broke, in the morning light, we could make out, only about 150 meters from the cliffs and rock ledges (deep water), the snorkels and some black smoke. Before to much light they disappeared. Turns out, an old Oberon class sub charging its batteries.

I am of the understanding that these subs come to safe waters near the coastline to occasionally snorkel up and charge batteries away from heavier swells.

My take on this.

kind regards,

bally

originally posted by: stormcell
Sound can bounce off the waves on the water and travel for miles. There was a canoeist in the USA who was found guilty by a judge for using offensive language. The person who overheard him was 1/4 mile away.

Doesn't water absorb sound?

The cliffs the OP mentioned would reflect sound, the shrubbery would absorb.

Found guilty of offensive language? In the U.S.?

There are ways to get in trouble with language.. ..but offending someone 1/4 mile away from a canoe?

Sounds like a tall tale..

a reply to: dampnickers

Has anyone else ever experienced this phenomenon, or anything like It? Where were you and was it day/night?

Both day and night have heard similar to what you're describing. Thinking if a car close by or going by on the road, turns out these where boats when I asked others.

Would try to a sound sample, to compare and contrast to different mysterious sounds that people have heard and shared.

Offhand I recalled the some of the strange sounds already shared about:
Also, the Great Lakes:

Loud, unexplained and seemingly random sounds have been coming from large bodies of water around the world, from the Great Lakes in America to the Yellow River in India. These strange sounds have been officially termed “mistpouffers,” and have been described by witnesses as sounding like thunder. However, there are usually no storms in range when these booms occur.

Source
The "mistpouffers" aka "skyquakes".

"Wisconsin's 'baffling' booms: A concise guide"

It was a sleepless week for the 4,600 residents of Clintonville, Wis. In an unsettling twist on things going bump in the night, the city has endured since Sunday a series of loud booms whose source is as maddeningly elusive as a phantom itch. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) claims that a recent "swarm" of low-grade earthquakes might be the culprit, but even USGS geophysicist Paul Caruso says he's "skeptical" that such small temblors could yield this kind of noise. Here, a guide to Clintonville's "baffling" booms:

More here



I looked up some more sources, this one mentions England(southwest area):

In Bristol, in the late 1970s, a low frequency noise started which they dubbed the "Bristol hum". The newspapers ran a poll asking readers: "Have you heard the Hum?" Over 900 people said they had. The noise went on for years and the population complained of sleeplessness, headaches, nausea and nosebleeds. “Experts” eventually blamed traffic and factories noise but could produce no verifiable proof. After about two years it just suddenly stopped.

There were other similar cases in Cheshire, Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Lancashire, London, Kent, Shropshire, Suffolk and Wiltshire.

Source

Could the "hums" light flashes and other anomalies, be bleed over events from the dimension next door?

Are there any toads or frogs near where you were? I live not far from a drainage ditch, and on summer nights after it rains the toads come out by the hundreds to find each other. They sound like the engine of an eighteen wheeler idling. When I first moved here, it took awhile to figure out what it was. It wouldn't explain lights, but it sort of fits the description of the sound.

Sound can travel great distances and even become amplified under the right conditions.

Here in my swamp, on occasion it sounds like a truck or other larger vehicle has driven up our driveway, but when I go outside to see who is here, the sound becomes distant by at least a mile or two. Because sound travels easier though water and solid rock, our swamp has a high water table, and my home is on a large cement slab, I believe that the sound travels underground and gets amplified by the cement slab and structure of the home. Perhaps the conditions on your sea side camping spot are similar with a combination of water and stone.

Atmospheric conditions can amplify sounds as well. Sometimes when walking the road, I can here kids playing at the neighbor's house and clearly hear conversations at half a mile in the open air. It should be noted that my hearing isn't perfect after years of playing live rock music in bands, so people with exceptional hearing would hear distant sounds much better than I could.

I'd imagine that your mysterious noise was some distant sound of a motor of some kind traveling through the water and amplified by the cliffs. It could have been miles distant and sound like it was merely a few hundred feet away under the right conditions.

a reply to: dampnickers

This may very well be the answer. These Toadfish apparently have a very annoying mating habit in coastal areas around the world!

There are many hazards of the sea. One of the least dangerous, yet still highly annoying and somewhat mysterious is the loud humming sound heard coming from the sea on summer nights by residents of coastal towns, in boats or in houses near the shore. The hum has been described variously as similar to the drone of a B-29 bomber or a giant electric shaver.

Now, the Telegraph is reporting that in Southhampton, England there is a ” noise, which residents say ‘pulsates’ through their homes, starts at about 10pm and carries on all night, forcing some people to move away from the area because they find it impossible to sleep. Scientists believe the noise could be being caused by [plainfin midshipman] fish having sex in an estuary nearby in Hythe, near Southampton in Hampshire.” The plainfin midshipman, also known as the singing toad fish, lives in deep waters for most of the year. It is covered with hundreds of photophores along its body which are used to produce light for attracting prey as well as for camouflage. In the summer months, the fish swim up into extremely shallow waters, including the intertidal regions, to mate. The fish can breathe through its skin so it can survive even when the tide goes out. For a fish with no vocal chords, the fish are extremely noisy. The plainfin midshipman are noctural. The male fish contract the muscles near their swim bladders to create their distinctive hum. Often many males compete for the attention of females, their hums forming a loud chorus that can be heard on land or through the hulls of boats.

Source Link

a reply to: dampnickers

Sounds like the phenomenon known as 'Taos Hum' in the US. This is a very interesting subject to me because I used to regularly experience it at our old house. It was very pronounced, but much more audible indoors than out. Sounded like a train locomotive idling in the distance.

I'm sure there must be some explanation for it, but I'll be darned if I can figure it out. I know one thing; it wasn't my imagination...which is how it is explained away by most people.

Now, I know I have excellent hearing as my hearing must be tested regularly for work. I am able to recognize both low and high frequency sounds better then most (so they say). What I used to hear was a very (very) low frequency sound, right at the bottom of my hearing spectrum.

I always wanted to analyze this phenomenon technically by using some sort of recording equipment. My plan was to record the ambient sound and compare this to the sound inside of a 'quiet room' (a room designed to be devoid of sound. I never got a chance to do that, but I'd still like to try sometime. My theory is, if you compared the two recordings (electronically) you should be able to extract any sound on one recording which isn't on the other. Then, if you isolated this sound, and amplified it, you should be able to sample it. If you took a sample you could speed it up and slow it down to validate if the sound is mechanical in origin. At least this would be a start. Then I'd be one step closer to figuring out what it is.

a reply to: dampnickers

Sounds like the phenomenon known as 'Taos Hum' in the US. This is a very interesting subject to me because I used to regularly experience it at our old house. It was very pronounced, but much more audible indoors than out. Sounded like a train locomotive idling in the distance.

I'm sure there must be some explanation for it, but I'll be darned if I can figure it out. I know one thing; it wasn't my imagination...which is how it is explained away by most people.

Now, I know I have excellent hearing as my hearing must be tested regularly for work. I am able to recognize both low and high frequency sounds better then most (so they say). What I used to hear was a very (very) low frequency sound, right at the bottom of my hearing spectrum.

I always wanted to analyze this phenomenon technically by using some sort of recording equipment. My plan was to record the ambient sound and compare this to the sound inside of a 'quiet room' (a room designed to be devoid of sound. I never got a chance to do that, but I'd still like to try sometime. My theory is, if you compared the two recordings (electronically) you should be able to extract any sound on one recording which isn't on the other. Then, if you isolated this sound, and amplified it, you should be able to sample it. If you took a sample you could speed it up and slow it down to validate if the sound is mechanical in origin. At least this would be a start. Then I'd be one step closer to figuring out what it is.