A team of Russian scientists has reached the bottom of one of Siberia’s mysterious craters for the first time. The researchers descended more than 16 meters into the largest of the craters, navigating ice and subzero temperatures to take measurements and collect samples.
The holes were first reported in mid-2024 after a helicopter pilot captured aerial photographs showing massive circular openings in the Siberian ground. The largest of these craters is located in a remote region where access is limited and conditions are extreme. Early reports sparked intense speculation.
Access Delayed By Summer Thaw
According to International Business Times, the research team had to wait for temperatures to drop to -11°C before they could safely enter the crater. During the warmer months, water from surrounding land pours into the pit, turning the base into a muddy sinkhole. Only once the lake at the bottom had frozen solid were the conditions stable enough for a full descent.
The expedition revealed that beneath the 16-meter-deep pit lies a frozen lake estimated to be at least another 10.5 meters deep. That detail, along with visible marks of internal gas pressure, supports one of the key theories under investigation: that these craters are the result of sudden subterranean gas eruptions breaking through thawing permafrost.
Unusual Heat at Tectonic Crossroads
The same source reported that the largest crater lies at the intersection of two tectonic faults, an unexpected detail given the region’s generally stable seismic history. Despite the lack of earthquakes, scientists on the scene measured higher-than-average temperatures underneath the crater floor, raising new questions about the thermal dynamics at play.
“We took all the probes we planned, and made measurements,” said Vladimir Pushkarev, director of the Russian Centre of Arctic Exploration. He added “Now scientists need time to process all the data and only then can they draw conclusions.”
Exploring The Past To Explain The Present
To figure out whether these carters are something new or part of a pattern that’s just gone unnoticed, researchers are digging through satellite images going back to the 1980s. They’re hoping to spot any signs that similar holes might’ve formed in the past but slipped under the radar in these hard-to-reach areas.
Pushkarev said it’ll take time to go through all the samples and images. While theories keep circulating, scientists are asking people to hold off on jumping to conclusions until they’ve had a chance to really look at the data. He still clarified:
“As of now we don’t see anything dangerous in the sudden appearance of such holes, but we’ve got to study them properly to make absolutely sure we understand the nature of their appearance and don’t need to be afraid about them,” Pushkarev said.
As stated in ScienceAlert, this was the first time a team made it all the way down to the bottom of the crater, and what they found could either support or disprove the long-running idea that methane gas building up under thawing permafrost is behind these sudden blowouts.
Source link
