The mystery of the Yamal crater has been solved. The origin of the giant sinkhole in the ground was found out by scientists from Moscow State University. They discovered a new geological phenomenon previously known only for icy planets. MIR 24 correspondent Andrei Mikhailov spoke with the researchers.
Yamal crater, sinkhole, funnel, hole, and finally - as soon as this rare natural phenomenon was not called all over the world. Suddenly appearing in the bare tundra four years ago, the crater immediately attracted the attention of scientists from various fields. Endless versions were built about its origin: from natural processes in the earth's crust to the intervention of an alien mind. The earthly mind won, of course.
“To call this process cryovolcanism, it was necessary to find this giant crater, its diameter was 20 meters, and its depth was about 50 meters. This is a grandiose funnel, being on the edge of which, you understand the extraordinary power of this process. Such were not known before. And, of course, this raised questions about how this crater was formed,”said Andrey Bychkov, professor of the Department of Geochemistry at the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University.
Until now, scientists called cryovolcanoes the processes that occur on the icy moons of Saturn. Gas jets are thrown from the surface of planets into space for hundreds of kilometers. On Earth, such processes have never been recorded before. In the course of several expeditions, geologists were still able to understand how the first cryovolcano was formed, which came into the field of vision of scientists.
The physics behind this process can be compared to a bottle of champagne in the freezer. The frozen soil presses on the walls of the resulting chamber, which contains carbon dioxide and water. The pressure increases, a bump of water forms on the surface, mixes with the gas and knocks out the soil cap like a cork from a bottle. The power of the explosion of the Yamal cryovolcano was such that the earth was thrown at a distance of 300 meters from the epicenter. The activity of such volcanoes on Earth is not the highest.
“Why was this phenomenon so rare? Exactly such explosions? Because often the soil cover does not withstand pressure and begins to crack, and gas escapes through the cracks. Here, the coincidence of circumstances, the confluence of all factors was such that the force with which this lid tore open acted instantly,”said Wanda Khilimonyuk, associate professor of the Geocryology Department of the Geological Faculty of Moscow State University.
The cryovolcano does not erupt twice in one place, unlike its hot counterparts. Therefore, now scientists are engaged in a detailed study of the mechanism of the origin of volcanoes, so that in the future it would be possible to predict the appearance of huge craters and thus secure the region, which produces a quarter of all the country's blue fuel.
Andrey Mikhailov
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