Reports of Unidentified Flying Object: The English Corn Circles in 1988 – The Meteorological Explanation
Shortly before the first Circles of 1988 appeared at the end of May, a conference of meteorologists in Oxford was told by Dr. Meaden that he had “solved the mystery of the Crop Circles. ” They were caused by “descending atmospheric vortices” or ” stationary whirlwinds, ” the mathematics of which were well understood. This claim was reported in the national press and no doubt widely believed by many people. It was said that Dr. Meaden was quite adamant that his explanation of the Circles was correct. Nevertheless it is fair to say that his claim will most likely come to be seen as ranking with the 1956 declaration of the late Astronomer Royal, Professor Richard Woolley, that space travel was “utter bilge, ” not long before artificial satellites and astronauts in orbit round the Earth became routine.
Dr. Meaden stated that the Circles are formed by the action of atmospheric vortices or “stationary whirlwinds” and it is quite easy to see why he should think that was the case. 14 The swirl of the flattened crop in the Circles carries the unmistakable signature of a rotational force, and if a rotating column of air is artificially produced in a wind tunnel fitted with equally spaced woollen strands, similar swirl patterns to those seen in single Circles in the cornfields can be produced.
Unfortunately, that is just about where the similarity ends, and there are very good reasons for believing that the force which acts on the com is not atmospheric at all . First, the precise geometry of the Circles, which often consists of patterns of considerable complexity, is unlike anything produced by meteorological effects. All other rotational winds, such as whirlwinds and tornados, move across the countryside leaving a swathe of destruction and, usually, anything but neat markings.
Second, even if one could produce a stationary rotating column of air, it seems certain it could not produce the effect which is observed. The precise patterns indicate that some force has acted directly on the plants themselves causing them to bend through ninety degrees. If one uses normal manual force to make such a bend, the result is either that the stalk buckles (so that the upper part of the plant dies) or else the plant returns to its original vertical position without any permanent bend being effected. In the Circles the plants remain bent, growing horizontally.
One has only to see the effect of a strong atmospheric force, such as the downdraft of a helicopter, on com or grass, to realize that high-speed air simply would not pro duce this effect on plants, even if it could be manipulated like a precision drill, as one is required to believe.
Third, why did these “stationary whirlwinds” seemingly reappear around 1980, and occur in increasing numbers throughout .this decade? This is hardly indicative of a meteorological effect. There is also the fact that the Circles without any doubt whatsoever have evolved over the last few years in a way that is totally unlike any other natural phenomenon. The increasing size and complexity of the patterns cannot be dismissed merely by saying that we only see all these now because we are looking for Circles, which was not the case in previous years. That simply is not true, as I hope to demonstrate in this chapter.