The Yamal Peninsula in northwestern Siberia consists mostly of permafrost soil and is geologically a very young place, with some areas less than 10,000 years old. The region is largely undeveloped, except for several infrastructure projects, including a gas pipeline and a few bridges. In 2014, it was the centerpiece of a bizarre story when a sinkhole was discovered that was apparently the result of a huge explosion – and experts could not explain why.
Since then, Dr Evgeny Chuvilin of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology says they have found more scores.
He told BBC Reel: ‘To date, 17 craters have been discovered.
‘When the first crater, the famous Yamal, appeared in 2014, many researchers rushed to study it and build models of this crater.
‘However, each new crater that followed did not fit into any of the models.
“Each crater has its own unique characteristics.”
The latest crater was spotted by a TV crew in August this year when they flew past with a team of scientists during an expedition.
But exactly what makes these enormous holes appear in the permafrost is still largely a mystery.
And experts are now increasingly concerned that what they have found is nothing else on earth and are concerned that it may pose a risk in the future.
Among them is Dr. Sue Natali, a fellow scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center who focuses on the effects of climate change.
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What is clear is that these holes do not form due to a gradual subsidence as the permafrost melts and slides below the surface.
Some researchers have compared the craters to cryovolcanoes – volcanoes that spew out ice instead of lava – thought of Pluto, Saturn’s moon Titan and the dwarf planet Ceres.
But Dr Chuvilin says much more research is needed to understand why they suddenly explode.
He added: ‘We are facing a colossal force here, created by very high pressure.
‘The reason behind this pressure remains a mystery.
“Crater research contains several steps. First, you make a field survey to explore the area, study the crater itself, its walls and the rock.
“Researchers build 3D models using flying vehicles and monitor the crater’s dynamics and how it fills with water.
A large part of the work is done in the laboratory where we use the sample to try to analyze the gas composition, the isotopic composition of carbon, and to try to understand the origin of the gas. ‘