Siberian Crater and Permafrost

 A crater has been blasted open in the remote tundra of Siberia after an explosive bubble of methane gas popped beneath the ground. Chunks of rocks were found hundreds of meters away from the location of blast. In today’s article we will see why this blast occurred in first place and whether something similar of greater magnitude can happen in the future.

The giant crater was spotted by a TV crew this summer in the Yamal peninsula, northwest Siberia while filming from a helicopter. The crew were filming the peninsula for another project, oblivious of the fact that a giant crater was waiting for them. According to news channel, RAS Institute of Oil and Gas Problems, and scientists at Skoltech are conducting a scientific study regarding the crater that will be published in the near future.

The diameter of the crater exceeds 20 meters and it is more than 50 meters deep. A woman who visited a "heave mound" on Siberia's Arctic tundra before it exploded to form a huge crater said it was "as if the earth was breathing" and that the ground was shaking. Professor Vasily Bogoyavlensky, Doctor of Engineering Sciences from the Russian Academy of Sciences, told local newspapers that the woman became interested in the unusual ground formation that had developed in the region and had been visiting the site daily. But on the day of explosion she felt some tremor. She quickly left the place just in time before it exploded.

This colossal crater is a result of permafrost that has been thawing (warming up) in the region for quite some time. Warming up of the permafrost is primarily contributed to the rising temperatures. Permafrost is rocky soil or sediment that’s remains frozen for most of the time. It stores huge amounts of organic contents. It contains organic carbons and frozen microorganisms. When the temperatures rise, the permafrost starts thawing. This melting of permafrost results in springing back of microbes to life and those microbes start pumping out methane under the damp and low-oxygen conditions. Sometimes, this methane can become trapped beneath the ground, which simultaneously becomes unstable from the melting permafrost. Eventually, the reservoirs of gas build up enough pressure and a blast takes place that carves out these giant craters on the chest of the earth. But these craters are not the only negative point of this process; it also raises the risk of sharp increase in greenhouse gases levels.

No matter how unnatural these craters might seem, they are not very uncommon in northern tundra. Another result of this geographical disturbance is splitting of ground. Instead of a giant circular crater, the ground splits up, allowing the methane to escape. One such geographical feature is in the Batagaika mega slump, also called ‘the gateway to the underworld, a 1km long slash in the landscape in the Sakha Republic of eastern Russia.

Although nothing can be said for certain until the scientific reports are released by the responsible departments, some experts are linking this year’s record-breaking high temperatures to the crater. Click here to read about this year’s temperature rise in Siberia. It is important to understand the significance of permafrost melting/thawing and its impact on the environment. As per the authorities, these blasts are occurring only in the uninhabited areas. Still blasts not only damage the ground but also disturbs the inhabitants of the nearby area as well. These cases seem to be increasing as a result of accelerated thawing of permafrost.

Hope you learnt something new today…

Article by – Skand Prateek Kaushik

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