Considering the number of crop circles that have been investigated, and considering the sheer determination they put into finding something abnormal, I would think it strange if they didn't produce odd findings. This is called
anomaly hunting, and is the reverse procedure of the scientific method. If those anomalies were typical of crop circles, as you guys elude to, then that would be evidence, but all we have are some strange readings from a certain piece of land, while they admit a crop circle made around the same time in the same area did not have these anomalies, and they called this the control sample?
It's not anomaly hunting. It would seem to me that with the growing popularity of crp circles as well as more and more widespread knowledge of the techniques for making them is spread via the internet, that the majority of crop circles, especially recent ones, would be man made. The minority would be genuine crop circles, and it's in the minority that we do see these anomalies. I never claimed or inferred(and if I did unintentionally I apologize) that the majorityof crop circles have these anomalies or that they were typical. However, The prevalence of the anomalies referenced is much higher than your proposed solution of an "exploding meteor" would point to, especially when there is no other evidence of a meteor exploding in the vicinity.
I'm not sure you interpreted the paper correctly - the control sample was an area "several dozen feet away" from the circle they were investigating. They referenced another formation in the paper, but once again referenced "control" samples that they had taken from there, presumably meaning they took the control several dozen feet away from the formation, just as they did in this investigation. Anomalies were recorded in this one as well. The control sample was taken several dozen feet away from the circle that contained the anomalies, and it did not have them. This also rules out the potential "exploding meteor" hypothesis because it would be expected that the same anomalies would be present, if not in slightly lower quantities. Instead, the sample did not show them at all.
Please bear in mind that I am not making any sort of jump to "aliens did it". I'll ask you to not assume that I am making conclusions that I'm not. Here's what I, and the research paper, are saying.
1. there is a circle
2. there are nuclear anomalies found inside but not immediately surrounding the circle
3. hoaxsters could not have produced these anomalies.
4. There is no known natural phenomena that could have produced these anomalies
5. There was no known exposure to equipment or other radioactive decay (such as from chernobyl or a nearby nuclear reactor) that would have affected the test sample but not the control.
These are the only conclusions anyone is making in regards to this paper.
There is by no means whatsoever evidence to support that crop circles are man-made 100% of the time.