In the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the third scientific expedition to a giant funnel, discovered on the peninsula near the Morda-Yakha river floodplain last summer, has come to an end and caused a great resonance in the information space.
This time - for the first time since its discovery - scientists managed to examine the inside of the funnel and take samples of soil and ice for chemical and isotope analyzes, primary cryolotological studies, the regional authorities report.
During the two previous expeditions - in July and August - the constant collapse of the inner walls of the funnel prevented full-fledged research and sampling. Only on November 8, when the ground was thoroughly frozen, the researchers were able to look inside and find out that since the discovery of the funnel its contours have changed markedly.
In addition to the descent, a special probe carried out georadiolocation of the funnel to a depth of 200 meters, which will allow to obtain its visual structure and create a 3D model, and in the future - to help predict the occurrence of this natural phenomenon, according to a press release.
The funnel will turn into a lake
The giant funnel itself, according to experts, in two years will turn into one of the many tundra lakes located on the Yamal Peninsula and, as scientists suggest, have a similar origin, the report says. At the same time, the nature of the appearance of the craters themselves is not reliably clear.
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“Our further task is to systematize all the data obtained and develop monitoring methods, if possible, predict the appearance of such a formation,” the words of Vladimir Pushkarev, director of the Russian Center for Arctic Development, are quoted in a press release.
In April 2015, another expedition is planned, within the framework of which geophysical and geological studies of the adjacent territory of the funnel will be carried out.
Recall that on July 10, a video recording from a helicopter appeared on YouTube video hosting, where you can see a huge basin. They found her 30 kilometers from the Bovanenkovskoye oil and gas condensate field, presumably in early summer. According to the author of the video, the size of the funnel is so large that "you can descend into it on several Mi-8s without fear of hitting something."
In the initial study, scientists from the Scientific Center for the Study of the Arctic and the Institute of the Earth's Cryosphere considered that the funnel was of natural origin and was not the result of any man-made impact, such as an explosion or a meteorite fall, local authorities reported.
The scientific group, sent to the place of the unusual phenomenon on behalf of the governor of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Dmitry Kobylkin, did not reveal any dangerous radiation at the site of the funnel. Scientists have come to the conclusion that the funnel is the result of "some natural phenomenon, which cannot be defined without a detailed study."
“Scientists are more inclined towards the wording 'burst like a bubble,'” the regional head's press service reported. "This is a purely mechanical release, which, most likely, occurred due to an increase in pressure during freezing and a change in the volume of a certain cavity in which there were reserves of bog gas," the words of a member of the group, chief researcher of the Earth Cryosphere Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Marina Leibman.
The diameter of the funnel along the inner edge is about 40 meters, on the outer edge - 60, and fragments of the ejection that occurred are observed at a distance of 120 meters, said then another participant in the study, senior researcher of the State Institution of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Scientific Center for the Study of the Arctic, Andrei Plekhanov.
Meanwhile, in July, in the Tazovsky district of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, another similar funnel was discovered, but smaller in size - its diameter is about 15 meters. She was found by reindeer breeders 90 km from the village of Antipayuta and reported to the authorities. At the same time, reindeer herders claim that in September 2013 a celestial body fell in this area, after which an outbreak occurred, local deputy Mikhail Lapsui told reporters.