Mysterious waves have been pulsing across Oklahoma

A buzz that rocked the state all summer sent geologists on a labyrinthine chase—and unearthed new mysteries about how energy moves through land and air.

Published September 13, 2019

9 min read

It all started when a wave swept across Oklahoma on June 24, just before 11:11 a.m. local time. It buzzed one seismometer after another, seeming to ping-pong hundreds of miles across the state. This wave didn’t just breeze by—it pulsed like a geologic heartbeat for about 10 minutes.

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