Tectonic weapon A tectonic weapon is a hypothetical device or system which could create earthquakes , volcanoes , or similar events in specified locations by interference with the earth ' s geological processes . It was defined in 1992 by Aleksey Vsevolovidich Nikolayev , corresponding member Russian Academy of Sciences : " A tectonic or seismic weapon would be the use of the accumulated tectonic energy of the Earth ' s deeper layers to induce a destructive earthquake " . He added " to set oneself the objective of inducing an earthquake is extremely doubtful " . Reports . Roger Clark , lecturer in geophysics at Leeds University said in the respected journal Nature in 1996 , responding to a newspaper report that there had been two secret Soviet programs , " Mercury " and " Volcano " , aimed at developing a " tectonic weapon " that could set off earthquakes from great distance by manipulating electromagnetism , said " We don ' t think it is impossible , or wrong , but past experience suggests it is very unlikely " . According to Nature these programs had been " unofficially known to Western geophysicists for several years " . According to the story the Mercury program began in 1987 , three tests were conducted in Kyrgyzstan , and Volcano ' s last test occurred in 1992 . Such weapons , whether or not they exist or are feasible , are a source of concern in official circles . For example US Secretary of Defense William S . Cohen , said on 28 April 1997 at the Conference on Terrorism , Weapons of Mass Destruction , and U . S . Strategy , University of Georgia " Others are engaging even in an eco - type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate , set off earthquakes , volcanoes remotely through the use of electromagnetic waves . " New Zealand ' s unsuccessful Project Seal programme during World War II attempted to create tsunami waves as a weapon . It was reported in 1999 that such a weapon might be viable . Nikola Tesla claimed a small steam - powered mechanical oscillator he was experimenting with in 1898 produce earthquake - like effects , but this has never been replicated . The TV show Mythbusters in Episode 60 . E2 . 80 . 93 made a small machine based on the same principle but powered by electricity rather than steam ; it produced vibrations in a large structure detectable 100 feet away , but no significant shaking , and they judged the effect to be a busted myth . International treaties . The 1978 Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques is an international treaty ratified by 75 states , and signed by a further 17 , that prohibits use of environmental modification techniques to cause earthquakes and tsunamis , amongst other phenomena . Conspiracy theories . After natural tectonic phenomena such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake , conspiracy theories , usually relating to the armed forces of the United States and formerly the Soviet Union , often arise , though no evidence is advanced . After the Haiti earthquake it was widely reported that president Hugo Chávez of Venezuela made unsupported allegations that it had been caused by testing of a US tectonic weapon . The newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda of Moscow reported on page 1 on 30 May 1992 that " a geophysical or tectonic weapon was actually developed in the USSR despite the UN Convention " , but that Chief Seismologist Major - General V Bochrov of the USSR Ministry of Defence categorically rejected any hints on the existence of tectonic weapons .