In May of 1973, a group of scientists from [Redacted] University were conducting experiments with a towed array sonar in the vicinity of the former Pacific Proving Grounds nuclear test site. The towed array sonar was used for seafloor mapping and detecting seismic signals, with the goal of developing civilian uses for the technology and investigating a magnitude 5.7 earthquake detected in the area in February.

The sonar began to experience a series of difficulties when the [Redacted] University crew attempted to map an area roughly bounded by [Redacted]º N and [Redacted]º E. Rather than showing the seafloor that might have been expected, the array instead showed a flat and featureless plain that seemed unnaturally smooth other than for a series of raised “dots.” In a later report delivered to [Redacted], the crew estimated that these “dots” would have been approximately 10m tall and 10m in diameter. A total of 17 were noted, in a pattern that the same report described as “[Redacted]-shaped.”

Once three passes over the area had been made, each confirming the readings of the previous one, the [Redacted] University crew left the area, intending to return with more sensitive equipment. This was prevented by the unseasonable Typhoon TD, a storm that formed outside the usual typhoon season and struck the area with gale-force winds for nearly two weeks. After the storm had subsided, the researchers were able to return to the area in June.

To their surprise, there was no sign of the previously “smooth” seafloor, nor of the “dots” that the sonar had previously found. The survey found, instead, ordinary terrain that was wholly unremarkable in the area. Samples were taken at seven sites within the area and sent to [Redacted] for analysis, and the towed array sonar was returned to its manufacturer, [Redacted], for examination. The samples indicted unusually high levels of [Redacted], [Redacted], and Strontium-90, but it is impossible to discern whether this is contamination from testing in the Pacific Proving Grounds. The towed array was found to be completely intact, with no flaws or damage.

Two final notes:

1. The [Redacted] shape of the “dots” corresponds to the inverse of the [Redacted] Signal, though as this is a basic shape found in many natural forms this is not conclusive in and of itself.

2. Despite technicians at [Redacted] finding no problems with the towed array, it never worked again. It failed on startup during every attempted use after the second trip to [Redacted]º N and [Redacted]º E and was eventually scrapped. A report from Col. [Redacted], indicating that the array was tested and found to be working in that area, but only in that area, cannot be substantiated at this time.

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