Mysteries of horrible scallops in Siberia solved by scientists

In July, a major explosion was caused by a massive explosion in the Arctic circle in the summer of unprecedented heat in the region.

It was the 17th crater of its kind to be found in the remote Yamal and Leis peninsula in the Russian Arctic since 2013, and – presumably – there were many strange theories about the origin of the holes, some centered around Kremlin missiles. . test and monsters.

Fortunately, our ancient scientists have used science to find scientific answers for us.

A research team used a drone to create a 3D model of the most recently seen crater, which they extracted from satellite images caused by an explosion between May 15 and June 9, 2020.

The author of the study Igor Bogoyavlensky, from the Oil and Gas Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was operating the drone and had to lie on the edge of the 30m deep pit and hang his arms over the edge – almost missing the drone three times.

Fortunately, it did not, and the model they created showed caves at the bottom of the pit, which certainly confirmed the hypothesis – the buildup of methane gas in an ice cave caused hills at some point. ground, finally exploded, leaving behind a crater.

It has not yet been conclusively determined why methane is building up, but it seems that climate change may be a factor.

Basically, permafrost (permanent frozen ground, duhhh) gradually melts through increasingly warm summers, allowing methane trapped in the soil to escape.

Evgeny Chuvilin, chief research scientist at the Hydrocarbon Rehabilitation Center at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow, said: the Arctic.

“This is the time of year [when the mound exploded] when a lot of solar energy comes in, which causes the snow to melt and the upper layers of the earth to heat up, causing changes in their buildings and behavior. “

The cracks found so far were usually discovered by accident while on a helicopter ride in very remote locations. However, they remain a threat to indigenous populations, and scientists hope that further studies will allow them to predict future impacts.