Abstract
We hypothesized that an equilibrium in seasonal variations between water load and both seismicity and reports of odd, spherical, luminous phenomena within the river basin should result in systematic but phase-lagged relationships between these variables. Within 320 km of the confluence of the Mississippi System, the monthly variation of a specific and major class of UFO reports (which appear to represent luminous phenomena that are generated by tectonic strain) peaked 3 to 4 months (r = 0.87) after the river crested. The phase lag between these luminous phenomena and seismic activity within the same region was about 6 months. The results support the model that river load-induced strain and fluid percolation into and diffusion within the earth's crust promote the production of natural luminous phenomena.