Four New Giant Siberian Craters Found After a Flash of Light
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Scientists in Siberia report four new giant craters have appeared in the Yamal Peninsula and one of them was discovered shortly after local residents reported seeing a giant flash of light. Two of the craters quickly filled with water and are now lakes. One is surrounded by up to 20 mini-craters and many more smaller holes are opening up in the same area with no warnings, no general agreement on causes and no known ways to predict them. Is it time to panic? Or too late?
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Black dots are existing craters, red dots are new ones
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Before and after satellite pictures of a newly discovered Siberian crater that has already filled with water and is surrounded by mini-craters.
The four new giant craters and dozens of small ones have been discovered by locals and reindeer herders and by experts like Professor Vasily Bogoyavlensky, deputy director of the Moscow-based Oil and Gas Research Institute, using satellite images. He's calling for an "urgent" investigation of the new craters.
We know now of seven craters in the Arctic area ... But I am sure that there are more craters on Yamal, we just need to search for them. I would compare this with mushrooms. When you find one mushroom, be sure there are few more around. I suppose there could be 20 to 30 craters more ... We need to answer now the basic questions: what areas, and under what conditions, are the most dangerous?
If you don't want people to panic, Professor, maybe you shouldn't talk about craters and mushrooms at the same time. Whatever the cause, these giant craters are now forming closer to inhabited communities and mining and refining operations. Is it time to stop, take a deep breath and smell the methane? Or should we be looking for another cause for these mysterious Siberian holes?
http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2015/02/four-new-giant-siberian-craters-found-after-a-flash-of-light/
Dozens of new craters suspected in northern Russia
By Anna Liesowska23 February 2015
Satellites show giant hole ringed by 20 'baby craters'.
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B1 - famous Yamal hole in 30 kilometres from Bovanenkovo, spotted in 2014 by helicopter pilots. Pictures: Marya Zulinova, Yamal regional government's press service
Respected Moscow scientist Professor Vasily Bogoyavlensky has called for 'urgent' investigation of the new phenomenon amid safety fears.
Until now, only three large craters were known about in northern Russia with several scientific sources speculating last year that heating from above the surface due to unusually warm climatic conditions, and from below, due to geological fault lines, led to a huge release of gas hydrates, so causing the formation of these craters in Arctic regions.
Two of the newly-discovered large craters - also known as funnels to scientists - have turned into lakes, revealed Professor Bogoyavlensky, deputy director of the Moscow-based Oil and Gas Research Institute, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Examination using satellite images has helped Russian experts understand that the craters are more widespread than was first realised, with one large hole surrounded by as many as 20 mini-craters, The Siberian Times can reveal.
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Four arctic craters: B1 - famous Yamal hole in 30 kilometres from Bovanenkovo, B2 - recently detected crater in 10 kilometres to the south from Bovanenkovo, B3 - crater located in 90 kilometres from Antipayuta village, B4 - crater located near Nosok village, on the north of Krasnoyarsk region, near Taimyr Peninsula. Picture: Vasily Bogoyavlensky
'We know now of seven craters in the Arctic area,' he said. 'Five are directly on the Yamal peninsula, one in Yamal Autonomous district, and one is on the north of the Krasnoyarsk region, near the Taimyr peninsula.
'We have exact locations for only four of them. The other three were spotted by reindeer herders. But I am sure that there are more craters on Yamal, we just need to search for them.
'I would compare this with mushrooms: when you find one mushroom, be sure there are few more around. I suppose there could be 20 to 30 craters more.'
He is anxious to investigate the craters further because of serious concerns for safety in these regions.
The study of satellite images showed that near the famous hole, located in 30 kilometres from Bovanenkovo are two potentially dangerous objects, where the gas emission can occur at any moment.
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Satellite image of the site before the forming of the Yamal hole (B1). K1 and the red outline show the hillock (pingo) formed before the gas emission. Yellow outlines show the potentially dangerous objects. Picture: Vasily Bogoyavlensky
He warned: 'These objects need to be studied, but it is rather dangerous for the researchers. We know that there can occur a series of gas emissions over an extended period of time, but we do not know exactly when they might happen.
'For example, you all remember the magnificent shots of the Yamal crater in winter, made during the latest expedition in Novomber 2014. But do you know that Vladimir Pushkarev, director of the Russian Centre of Arctic Exploration, was the first man in the world who went down the crater of gas emission?
'More than this, it was very risky, because no one could guarantee there would not be new emissions.'
Professor Bogoyavlensky told The Siberian Times: 'One of the most interesting objects here is the crater that we mark as B2, located 10 kilometres to the south of Bovanenkovo. On the satellite image you can see that it is one big lake surrounded by more than 20 small craters filled with water.
'Studying the satellite images we found out that initially there were no craters nor a lake. Some craters appeared, then more. Then, I suppose that the craters filled with water and turned to several lakes, then merged into one large lake, 50 by 100 metres in diameter.
'This big lake is surrounded by the network of more than 20 'baby' craters now filled with water and I suppose that new ones could appear last summer or even now. We now counting them and making a catalogue. Some of them are very small, no more than 2 metres in diameter.'
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Satellite images showing pingo before the gas emission on the object B2 (top). Lake formed here at the place of the number of craters and the network of more than 20 'baby' craters around (bottom). Picture: Vasily Bogoyavlensky
Satellite images showing pingo before the gas emission on the object B2 (top). Lake formed here at the place of the number of craters and the network of more than 20 'baby' craters around (bottom). Picture: Vasily Bogoyavlensky
'We have not been at the spot yet,' he said. 'Probably some local reindeer herders were there, but so far no scientists.'
He explained: 'After studying this object I am pretty sure that there was a series of gas emissions over an extended period of time. Sadly, we do not know, when exactly these emissions occur, i.e. mostly in summer, or in winter too. We see only the results of this emissions.'
The object B2 is now attracting special attention from the researchers as they seek to understand and explain the phenomenon. This is only 10km from Bovanenkovo, a major gas field, developed by Gazprom, in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Yet older satellite images do not show the existence of a lake, nor any craters, in this location.
Not only the new craters constantly forming on Yamal show that the process of gas emission is ongoing actively.
Professor Bogoyavlensky shows the picture of one of the Yamal lakes, taken by him from the helicopter and points on the whitish haze on its surface.
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Yamal lake with traces of gas emissions. Picture: Vasily Bogoyavlensky
He commented: 'This haze that you see on the surface shows that gas seeps that go from the bottom of the lake to the surface. We call this process 'degassing'.
'We do not know, if there was a crater previously and then turned to lake, or the lake formed during some other process. More important is that the gases from within are actively seeping through this lake.
'Degassing was revealed on the territory of Yamal Autonomous District about 45 years ago, but now we think that it can give us some clues about the formation of the craters and gas emissions. Anyway, we must research this phenomenon urgently, to prevent possible disasters.'
Professor Bogoyavlensky stressed: 'For now, we can speak only about the results of our work in the laboratory, using the images from space.
'No one knows what is happening in these craters at the moment. We plan a new expedition. Also we want to put not less than four seismic stations in Yamal district, so they can fix small earthquakes, that occur when the crater appears.
'In two cases locals told us that they felt earth tremors. The nearest seismic station was yet too far to register
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Crater B3 located in 90 kilometres from Antipayuta village, Yamal district (top). Crater B4 located near Nosok village, on the north of Krasnoyarsk region, near Taimyr Peninsula. Pictures: Local residents
'I think that at the moment we know enough about the crater B1. There were several expeditions, we took probes and made measurements. I believe that we need to visit the other craters, namely B2, B3 and B4, and then visit the rest three craters, when we will know their exact location. It will give us more information and will bring us closer to understanding the phenomenon.'
He urged: 'It is important not to scare people, but to understand that it is a very serious problem and we must research this.'
In an article for Drilling and Oil magazine, Professor Bogoyavlensky said the parapet of these craters suggests an underground explosion.
'The absence of charred rock and traces of significant erosion due to possible water leaks speaks in favour of mighty eruption (pneumatic exhaust) of gas from a shallow underground reservoir, which left no traces on soil which contained a high percentage of ice,' he wrote.
'In other words, it was a gas-explosive mechanism that worked there. A concentration of 5-to-16% of methane is explosive. The most explosive concentration is 9.5%.'
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'The parapet of these craters suggests an underground explosion.' Pictures of Yamal crater taken by Vasily Bogoyavlensky
Gas probably concentrated underground in a cavity 'which formed due to the gradual melting of buried ice'. Then 'gas was replacing ice and water'.
'Years of experience has shown that gas emissions can cause serious damage to drilling rigs, oil and gas fields and offshore pipelines,' he said. 'Yamal craters are inherently similar to pockmarks.
'We cannot rule out new gas emissions in the Arctic and in some cases they can ignite.'
This was possible in the case of the crater found at Antipayuta, on the Yamal peninsula.
'The Antipayuta residents told how they saw some flash. Probably the gas ignited when appeared the crater B4, near Taimyr peninsula. This shows us, that such explosion could be rather dangerous and destructive.
'We need to answer now the basic questions: what areas and under what conditions are the most dangerous? These questions are important for safe operation of the northern cities and infrastructure of oil and gas complexes.'
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The latest expedition to Yamal crater was initiated by the Russian Centre of Arctic Exploration in early November 2014. The researchers were first in the world who went down the crater of gas emission. Pictures: Vladimir Pushkarev/Russian Centre of Arctic Exploration
Pingos are mounds with an ice core found in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.
They can reach up to 70 metres (230 ft) in height and up to 600 m (2,000 ft) in diameter. They usually appear when groundwaters penetrate between permafrost and the top layer, which melts in summer season. They usually form in drained lakes or river channels.
However, gas is not a factor in their creation.
http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/news/n0127-dozens-of-mysterious-new-craters-suspected-in-northern-russia/
I can see this being a tumbleweed thread because it is so amazing.
The one theory is Methan gas blow holes but some of those images are through solid rock, with clean smooth sides and no sign of the debris that would have piles up around the holes if it had been blown out from the bottom
This reminds me of another round hole through a building in Brazil that Russo posted... need to find that
Found it http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread806785/pg1
Explosion and partial collapse of a building in Brazil. The holes of a story.
Posted by Russo at ATS Feb, 7 2012
Ok, this is strange news to me:
Firefighters working on removing the rubble of the building that partially collapsed in the center of Sao Bernardo do Campo, on ABC, late on Monday (6) have photos of the interior of the building. The incident happened around 7:30 am and caused a hole that begins on the roof of the building. the Senator building was 13 floors. One child died and six others were injured. Around 9:30 this Tuesday (7), firefighters were still searching for a missing woman.
The images taken by firefighters show the hole on the slab, which is about 10 meters in diameter. You can also see the debris that has accumulated on the first floor of the Senator Building.
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But, If they dont find the remains of the alleged water tank, they will have to invent another theory and will not be able to blame the structure of the building because the documentation was regular and there were no structural problems. Even after the hole, the structure was not compromised. So what caused a huge circular hole in the building?
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his not make sense to me.
I've been researching mysterious holes that are appearing all over the world One case that was well reviewed on the Internet was the mysterious hole in Guatemala.
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The case has not been clarified yet, but it would be interesting if there were some physical explanation to explain how could a slab or a water tank do that circular hole in the building.
So, could this be a meteorite crash? A test of some kind of a secret weapon? Just bad luck?
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread806785/pg1
Quote from: zorgon on February 25, 2015, 03:24:23 AM
Found it http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread806785/pg1
I think i posted that here too.
Anyway, I think they managed to reduce the cost of antimatter:
Quotemajor obstacle is the cost of producing antimatter even in small quantities. As of 2004, the cost of producing 1 millionth of a gram of antimatter was estimated at $60 billion.[9] By way of comparison the cost of the Manhattan project to produce the first atomic weapon was estimated at $23 billion at 2007 prices.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter_weapon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter_weapon)
Those holes may be 1/10 of a gram :P
QuoteAntimatter production and containment are major obstacles to the creation of antimatter weapons. Quantities measured in grams will be required to achieve destructive effect comparable with conventional nuclear weapons; one gram of antimatter annihilating with one gram of matter produces 180 terajoules, the equivalent of 42.96 kilotons of TNT (approximately 3 times the bomb dropped on Hiroshima - and as such enough to power an average city for an extensive amount of time).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter_weapon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimatter_weapon)
That reminds me when Putin told the world: don't mess with russia or else we would see weapons never seen before. :o
Nah... They would not be so dumb. would they? :-\
Quote from: RUSSO on February 25, 2015, 03:38:18 AM
I think i posted that here too.
Found it...
http://www.thelivingmoon.com/forum/index.php?topic=723.0 (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/forum/index.php?topic=723.0)
Large crater appears at the 'end of the world'
By The Siberian Times reporter15 July 2014
Mysterious 'gigantic' hole in remote region spotted by helicopters over gas-rich Yamal peninsula.
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The crater is large enough for several Mi-8 helicopters to fly into it. Picture: Konstantin Nikolaev
The striking puncture in the earth is believed to be up to 80 metres wide but its depth is not estimated yet. A scientific team has been sent to investigate the hole and is due to arrive at the scene on Wednesday.
The cause of its sudden appearance in Yamal - its name means the 'end of the world' in the far north of Siberia - is not yet known, though one scientific claim is that global warming may be to blame.
There is additionally speculation it could be caused by a space object - perhaps a meteorite - striking earth or that it is a sinkhole caused by collapsing rock beneath the hole caused by as yet unknown factors.
The giant hole appeared close to a forest some 30 kilometres from Yamal's biggest gas field Bovanenkovo. Experts are confident that a scientific explanation will be found for it and that it is not - as one web claim suggested - evidence 'of the arrival of a UFO craft' to the planet.
A report and footage highlighted by Zvezda TV says the dark colour of the crater indicates 'some temperature processes', without explaining more what they may mean. Others say that the darkening around the inner rim indicates its formation was accompanied by severe burning scorching the edges.
Some observers believe water or dry soil is seen falling into the cavity.
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Initial reports and images were suspected to be fakes, but the hole is a real phenomenon and it is believed to have been formed around two years ago. Pictures: Konstantin Nikolaev
There is agreement that soil around the hole was thrown out of the crater, large enough for several Mi-8 helicopters to fly into it - not that they have.
The expedition organised by the Yamal authorities includes two experts from the Centre for the Study of the Arctic and one from Cryosphere Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They plan to take samples of soil, air and water from the scene.
They will be accompanied by a specialist from the Emergencies Ministry.
A spokesman for the ministry's Yamal branch ruled out a meteorite but said it was too early to say what cause the gigantic hole in the earth.
'We can definitely say that it is not a meteorite. No details yet,' said a spokesman.
Initial reports and images were suspected to be fakes, but the hole is a real phenomenon and it is believed to have been formed around two years ago.
Engineer Konstantin Nikolaev from Yugra is one of those to have filmed it from a helicopter.
Anna Kurchatova from Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Centre thinks the crater was formed by a water, salt and gas mixture igniting an underground explosion, the result of global warming. She postulates that gas accumulated in ice mixed with sand beneath the surface, and that this was mixed with salt - some 10,000 years ago this area was a sea.
Global warming, causing an 'alarming' melt in the permafrost, released gas causing an effect like the popping of a Champagne bottle cork, she suggests.
Given the gas pipelines in this region such a happening is potentially dangerous.
http://siberiantimes.com/other/others/features/large-crater-appears-at-the-end-of-the-world/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kMs05VaOfE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kMs05VaOfE
Huge New Holes In Siberia Have Scientists Calling For Urgent Investigation Of The Mysterious Craters
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Vladimir Pushkarev/The Siberian Times
Scientists were baffled last July when they discovered three giant holes in the ground in the Yamal Peninsula in northern Siberia.
Now, with the help of satellite imagery, researchers have located four additional craters--and they believe there may be dozens more in the region. That has them calling for an urgent investigation to protect residents living in the area.
"I am sure that there are more craters on Yamal, we just need to search for them... I suppose there could be 20 to 30 craters more," Prof. Vasily Bogoyavlensky, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and deputy director of the Moscow-based Oil and Gas Research Institute, told The Siberian Times. "It is important not to scare people, but to understand that it is a very serious problem and we must research this."
Researchers ventured deep inside one of the holes last November, collecting data in an effort to learn why the holes formed. The leading theory is that the holes were created by gas explosions triggered by underground heat or by rising air temperatures associated with climate change, the Siberian Times reported last December.
Since scientists can't predict when or where gas explosions will occur, it's dangerous to study them, according to Bogoyavlensky. But he said his team is planning to launch a new expedition, and to put stations in the area to detect earthquakes that might strike when the craters open up.
"We need to answer now the basic questions: what areas and under what conditions are the most dangerous?" he told the Siberian Times. "These questions are important for safe operation of the northern cities and infrastructure of oil and gas complexes."
Experts in the U.S. echoed that sentiment.
Dr. Carolyn Ruppel, a research geophysicist at the Woods Hole Field Center in Massachusetts and chief of the U.S. Geological Survey's Gas Hydrates Project, told The Huffington Post in an email that she was not surprised that new holes had been found.
Ruppel, who is not involved in the Siberian research effort, called for more research on the holes.
"The processes that are causing them to form likely occur over a wide area of the continuous permafrost in this part of Siberia," she said in the email. "Scientists should definitely conduct more research on these features to determine the processes that cause their formation, how they evolve with time, and whether it is possible to predict where new ones will occur."
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/holes-siberia-investigation-safety_n_6736744.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdi4_-0tOvE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdi4_-0tOvE
The Siberian crater saga is more widespread — and scarier — than anyone thought
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-siberian-crater-saga-is-more-widespread-%e2%80%94-and-scarier-%e2%80%94-than-anyone-thought/ar-BBhZntw
Washington Post
Terrence McCoy 3 hrs ago
At the end of last summer came news of a bizarre occurrence no one could explain. It was a massive crater that just one day showed up. Early estimates placed it at nearly 100 feet in diameter, nestled deep in Siberia's Yamal Peninsula, a place called "the ends of the Earth."
The saga deepened. The Siberian crater wasn't alone. There were two more, ratcheting up the tension in a drama that hit its climax as a probable explanation surfaced. Global warming had thawed the permafrost, which had caused methane trapped inside the icy ground to explode. "Gas pressure increased until it was high enough to push away the overlaying layers in a powerful injection, forming the crater," one German scientist said at the time.
Now, however, researchers fear there are more craters than anyone knew — and the repercussions could be huge. Russian scientists have now spotted a total of seven craters, five of which are in the Yamal Peninsula. Two of those holes have since turned into lakes. And one giant crater is rimmed by a ring of at least 20 mini-craters, the Siberian Times reported. Dozens more Siberian craters are likely still out there, said Moscow scientist Vasily Bogoyavlensky of the Oil and Gas Research Institute, calling for an "urgent" investigation.
He fears that if temperatures continue to rise — and they were five degrees higher than average in 2012 and 2013 — more craters will emerge in an area awash in gas fields vital to the national economy. "It is important not to scare people, but to understand that it is a very serious problem and we must research this," he told the Siberian Times. "... We must research this phenomenon urgently, to prevent possible disasters."
One potential disaster relates to the explosions themselves. No one has been hurt in any of the blasts, but given the size of some of the craters, it's fair to say the methane bursts are huge. Researchers are nervous about even studying them. Who knows when a methane geyser will shoot off again?
"These objects need to be studied, but it is rather dangerous for the researchers," Bogoyavlensky told the Siberian Times. "We know that there can occur a series of gas emissions over an extended period of time, but we do not know exactly when they might happen. ... It is very risky, because no one can guarantee there would not be new emissions."
Making matters worse, the gas is extremely flammable. One of the methane bursts has already caught fire. Nearby residents in a town called Antipayuta say they recently saw a bright flash in the distance. "Probably the gas ignited," Bogoyavlensky said. "... This shows us that such [an] explosion could be rather dangerous and destructive. Years of experience has shown that gas emissions can cause serious damage to drilling rigs, oil and gas fields and offshore pipelines."
Of particular interest is the Siberian crater B2. Since its emergence, only six miles away from Bovanenkovo, a major Gazprom gas field, it has turned into a lake. But even now, photographs show, there are wisps of methane. The crater, covered by water, is still leaking gas. "This haze that you see on the surface show that gas seeps that go from the bottom of the lake to the surface," Bogoyavlensky told the Siberian Times. "We call this process 'degassing.'"
So, to recap: Siberia is warming. Permafrost thaws and spews methane, and blasting out a burst of highly flammable gas. Who could have guessed global warming would do all of that?
"No one knows what is happening in these craters at the moment," Bogoyavlensky said. "We plan a new expedition."
............................................
[RELATED: Scientists may have cracked the giant Siberian crater mystery — and the news isn't good]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/05/scientists-may-have-cracked-the-giant-siberian-crater-mystery-and-the-news-isnt-good/
Scientists may have cracked the giant Siberian crater mystery — and the news isn't good
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A crater located in the permafrost about 18 miles from a huge gas field north of the regional capital of Salekhard, roughly 2,000 kilometers northeast of Moscow, on June 16, 2014. AFP/Getty Images
t may be methane gas, released by the thawing of frozen ground. According to a recent Nature article, "air near the bottom of the crater contained unusually high concentrations of methane — up to 9.6% — in tests conducted at the site on 16 July, says Andrei Plekhanov, an archaeologist at the Scientific Centre of Arctic Studies in Salekhard, Russia. Plekhanov, who led an expedition to the crater, says that air normally contains just 0.000179% methane."
The scientist said the methane release may be related to Yamal's unusually hot summers in 2012 and 2013, which were warmer by an average of 5 degrees Celsius. "As temperatures rose, the researchers suggest, permafrost thawed and collapsed, releasing methane that had been trapped in the icy ground," the report stated.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/05/scientists-may-have-cracked-the-giant-siberian-crater-mystery-and-the-news-isnt-good/
Plekhanov explained to Nature that the conclusion is preliminary. He would like to study how much methane is contained in the air trapped inside the crater's walls. Such a task, however, could be difficult. "Its rims are slowly melting and falling into the crater," the researcher told the science publication. "You can hear the ground falling, you can hear the water running; it's rather spooky."
Mysterious Siberian crater attributed to methane
Build-up and release of gas from thawing permafrost most probable explanation, says Russian team.
Katia Moskvitch
But Plekhanov and his team believe that it is linked to the abnormally hot Yamal summers of 2012 and 2013, which were warmer than usual by an average of about 5°C. As temperatures rose, the researchers suggest, permafrost thawed and collapsed, releasing methane that had been trapped in the icy ground
http://www.nature.com/news/mysterious-siberian-crater-attributed-to-methane-1.15649