Adriatic lights and water columns
From autumn 1978 fishermen off the southern Marche and Abruzzo (San Benedetto del Tronto to Ortona) reported water columns rising from calm seas, churning patches, glowing globes and dark objects at the surface, with radio and compass trouble.
1978 CE · 42.95, 13.90 · status: disputed
The account
The reports were the core of Italy's great 1978–79 wave, which also included the Musinè, Torrita and Zanfretta cases. Ufologists suggested underwater bases.
The sceptical view
The geologist Pietro V. Curzi tied the columns, bubbles and trails to natural gas (methane) seeping from the seabed; the Navy found nothing.
The researched reading
Water columns, bubbles and lights seen by fishermen during Italy’s great wave. Natural gas from the seabed explains the main effects.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A known natural phenomenon | 50% | The central Adriatic seabed releases methane through seeps and pockmarks; bursts of gas produce water columns, churning patches and bubbles, and seismic stress in the region in 1978 may have increased seepage. |
| Something known, misidentified | 15% | Lights at sea may be other boats, planes or gas platforms, which were spreading in the Adriatic in the 1970s. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 10% | Glowing globes over the sea may be plasma or luminous gas related to seepage, a poorly understood phenomenon. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 10% | In the midst of a national UFO wave, fishermen interpreted sea events through the press narrative. |
| Secret human technology | 6% | Naval or submarine activity in the Adriatic during the Cold War is a small possibility. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 5% | Some reports of submerged objects remain unexplained but are poorly documented. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 4% | There is no sign of deliberate invention. |
Official position: The Italian Navy found nothing; geologists attributed the water columns to methane seepage.