In the summer of 2014, several giant craters were discovered in Siberia. The find attracted the attention of scientists from all over the world. Along with scientific explanations of the phenomenon, fantastic hypotheses appeared in the press, for example, those related to the activities of aliens. And now the series of curious finds has continued.
In July 2014, reindeer herders discovered an 80-meter crater on the Yamal Peninsula. In the same month, two more craters were discovered, one of which is located in the Tazovsky region, and the other in Taimyr.
More recently, satellite observations have found four more craters. One of them is surrounded by a chain of 20 small funnels. Currently, satellite photographs show that two craters discovered in 2014 have turned into lakes.
“Now we know seven craters in the Arctic zone. Five - on the Yamal Peninsula, one - in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and one more - in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Region, not far from the Taimyr Peninsula,”said Vasily Bogoyavlensky, an employee of the Moscow Institute of Oil and Gas.
Bogoyavlensky believes that there may be many more craters. The scientist calls for further research on the phenomenon, since it is the source of the likely danger.
“It is urgent to investigate this phenomenon in order to prevent a possible catastrophe,” he said.
Although the origin of these craters is still a mystery, scientists speculate that they were formed by an explosion of gas released as the permafrost melted.
“Methane, possibly mixed with carbon dioxide, is under permafrost. As the climate warms, permafrost begins to thaw from below, allowing gas to rise higher and higher. In the end, gas pressure creates a hill on the surface of the earth, which then erupts to form a crater,”says Vladimir Romanovsky, a geophysicist who studies permafrost at the University of Alaska.
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In November 2014, scientists went on an expedition to study the craters of Yamal. The researchers managed to get interesting pictures of the craters. Vladimir Pushkarev, director of the Russian Center for Arctic Development, even climbed down into the crater on a rope to inspect it from the inside.
“Only the upper part of the object looks like a crater. Several meters of soil was thrown out, but the main part of the deepening was there even before the explosion,”said Romanovsky.
The methane released from the ground may even have caught fire. Residents of nearby settlements observed a bright flash that could accompany the formation of the crater. How the gas could ignite, scientists do not yet know:
“There are no thunderstorms in winter, when the crater has formed. Perhaps the methane did not burn - the crater could have formed simply under the pressure of the gas,”said Romanovsky.
The craters have become possible as a result of rising temperatures and melting permafrost.
“If the warming continues, new craters will appear. This can happen in any area where there are sources of natural gas, for example, in Alaska and in the northwest of Canada,”Romanovsky said.
ALEX KUDRIN
