Exploratory Analysis of Changes in Global Parameters Around Sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena

Abstract

Unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) have long been associated with earthquakesand other geophysical occurrences and are seen by government agencies in the UnitedStates and elsewhere as possibly significant to national security. Despite that, themechanisms driving UAP are unclear. This study contributes to their better understandingby looking at UAP as more than sighting reports and conducts an atheoretical, data-driven review that seeks to identify their statistical associations with global geophysicaland anthropomorphic parameters. The analysis covers the period 1995-2020and includes 19 variables with annual and monthly frequency. UAP sightings are fromNUFORC and mainly cover North America, which encompasses 17 percent of Earth’sland area and is a sample of global data. Here we show that reports of UAP sightings arepreceded by changes of the same sign in stock prices and of the opposite sign in airlinercrashes, atmospheric carbon dioxide, and earthquakes. UAP sightings are then accompaniedor followed by changes of the same sign in airliner crashes, battle deaths, earthquakes,global temperature, sunspots, and volcanic eruptions; and by changes of theopposite sign in atmospheric carbon dioxide, cosmic radiation, mental health deaths,natural disasters, and tropical storms. This analysis highlights a potentially importantscientific gap whereby UAP are associated with diverse global parameters, and providesa basis for further study.