The huge Batagayka crater, which is called the Siberian "Gates to Hell", is increasing by 15–20 m per year, Regnum reports. This conclusion was reached by an international team of scientists who made an expedition to the thermokarst basin, named after the nearby river Batagaika. The researchers note that the expansion of the hole will not stop until the ice at its edges has completely melted.
Although the formation of the Batagai section is undoubtedly caused by global warming, scientists do not exclude the human factor. Craters usually form where people have cleared forests, carried out industrial work, paved a road that was used all year round. Such processes weaken the soil cover, making it unstable.
The study of the soil, flora and 200-thousand-year-old sediments of the basin will reveal what the ancient ecosystem of Batagayki was like. This, in turn, will form the basis for predicting further climate change.
The crater is located 7 km from the village of Batagai, Verkhoyansk region of Yakutia. The depression is 100 m deep, 800 m wide, and over 1 km long. Satellite observations from 1999 to 2016 clearly prove that the Batagayk basin is expanding.
The failure turned out to be a real treasure trove of paleontological values. Since 2011, excavations have been carried out here, the result of which is samples of paleosoil, fossilized plants, bones of a mammoth, cave lion, Lena horse, bison and other animals of the Ice Age.
