Huge holes have been discovered in a
Siberian region nicknamed "the end of the world," reports the
'Siberian Times.' First a 260-foot-wide crater caught the world's attention in
early July, and now researchers and reindeer herders have uncovered two more:
one with a diameter of around 50 feet, and another — which nearly swallowed the
herders who stumbled across it — with a diameter of only about 13 feet but an
estimated depth of up to 328 feet, 'Gizmodo' reports.
This frame grab made on July 16, 2014, shows a crater discovered
recently in the Yamal Peninsula in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia.
Huge, mysterious gaping holes in Northern Siberia may not be
such a mystery anymore. One scientist has pinned down a cause and, spoiler
alert, it's not aliens or weapons testing, as had been theorized.
The first hole discovered in the Yamal Peninsula, which is
260 feet wide, is likely a sinkhole caused by melting ice or permafrost,
University of Alaska geophysicist Vladimir Romanovsky tells LiveScience.
But rather than swallowing the earth as it opened up, he
speculates, the hole "actually erupted outside," tossing dirt around
the rim. (One caveat: Romanovsky hasn't seen the holes himself, but he has
spoken to Russian colleagues who have, notes PRI.)
He suspects natural gas caused pressure to build as the
water collected in an underground cavity, and the dirt—which is reportedly
piled more than 3 feet high around the edge of the crater — was eventually
expelled.
Plants around the crater suggests the hole is several years
old, but closer inspection is needed to determine the exact age. Romanovsky
thinks climate change played a role, which means "we will probably see
this happen more often now," he says. But questions remain, notes
LiveScience: Where did the natural gas come from, and why is the hole so even
and round?
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