Did A Meteor Trigger A Tsunami Buoy Off the Jersey Coast?
According the the US Government's National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), some type of event in the ocean off the New Jersey coast triggered a Tsunami Buoy.
Station 44402 recorded a sudden change in water depth. The depth was at a normal level of 2612 Meters, but at 22:38 UTC, the depth dropped to 27 meters (88 feet) to 2585 meters in 15 seconds. The buoy then bounced back up to 2640 meters another 15 seconds later, for a change of fifty-five meters (180 feet).
The US Geological Survey did not report any earthquake activity in the area which might resulted in a sudden, dramatic change in ocean depth.
This past weekend was the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower, and a meteor could have impacted the ocean in that area. Normally, the small meteors from this annual event never make it to the surface of the earth, burning up in the atmosphere before reaching the ground. It is possible, though, that a meteor as small as a softball impacting the ocean at 14,000mph would cause quite a localized wave.