Mysterious 'gigantic' hole in remote region spotted by helicopters over gas-rich Yamal peninsula.
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.
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.
Sights of Yamal - aerial view of tundra, road to Bovanenkovo gas field, opening ceremony of the Bovanenkovo, and reindeers. Pictures: Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug administration
The Yamal Peninsula in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is a strategic oil and gas bearing region of Russia.
It is Russia's main production area for gas and the Bovanenkovo field is of central importance to gas supplies from Siberia to the world.
The gas field was discovered in 1972 and developed by Gazprom starting production in 2012. The Yamal peninsula is bordered by the Kara Sea - Baydaratskaya Bay - to the west, and the Gulf of Ob on the east. It extends some 700 kilometres over mainly permafrost.
The area is famous for its reindeer herds and migratory birds.
The Nenets and Khanty reindeer herders hold about half a million domestic reindeer.
The remains of ancient woolly mammoths have been found in this enchanting territory.
Comments (172)
Another thing, i was in a geyser few days ago and the next day, the pressure was very low and the heat was much more down.
It makes me wonder if there would not be some bad intentionate people who would be playing in these feild and creating dangerous conditions for our future on this planet. It made think that if the water was reaching the hot center of if it was evaporated caused by some ignorant human manipulations, it could really ,ean the end of the world.
I hope, that what I am saying now, is not written somewhere in some top secret information!
We should put our pants on as humans and condamn all destructive acts, such as war, bombs and killing.
They are testing particle velocity at 10,000 time the Earth's own magnetic pull.
We're coming to take you away "Ha-Ha"...
We're coming, we're coming, we're coming, we're coming
We're coming to take you away "Ha-Ha".
Satan's new "Hit Song".
i agree with aaron,he knew it already who live there inside that hole...i can relate to his answer...but God does not allow that to happen because he created them.and God is so powerful to destroy them...
amke wil gaint hol.inside of earth cor heat and atmosfier air pressur then will blast the natural LPG gas,I think this.
BUT
They have been talking about another world for years now when a slab of ice was covering better part of earth thousands of years ago. This slab of ice was KILOMETERS THICK! Think about this. It could still be sitting there in places around earth not kilometers but hundreds of meters thick. Now when it starts melting (about now) this science fiction will become real...