Siberia's permafrost holes: Big bang heard 100 km away, causing 'glow in sky'.

[Chad]

Apparently new info on the craters and their formation in Siberia - i've searched and can't see it posted here or on sott:

Big bang formed crater causing 'glow in sky': explosion was heard 100 km away

By The Siberian Times reporter
07 June 2016

Startling new details emerge of the most mysterious of Siberia's newly created giant permafrost holes.

Since the crater was formed in a 2013 blowout, the crater's size rapidly increased at least 15 times during the next year and a half. Picture: Vladimir Epifanov

First accounts of the gaping fissure in the earth - found by reindeer herders, who were almost swallowed up by the crater - reported that it was around 4 metres in width and 'about 100 metres' deep.

Scattered over a radius of one kilometre were lumps of displaced soil, sand and ice which had erupted from the earth.

Now we can reveal significant new details about this remote crater on the Taimyr peninsula in Krasnoyarsk region, some 440 kilometres from dozens of other newly-formed giant holes.

Firstly, respected scientist Dr Vladimir Epifanov, the sole leading expert to so far visit the site, said: 'There is verbal information that residents of nearby villages - at a distance of 70-100 km - heard a sound like an explosion, and one of them watched a clear glow in the sky. It was about one month after the Chelyabinsk meteorite.'

Taimyr crater in March 2013

Taimyr crater in March 2013

Taimyr crater in March 2013

First accounts of the gaping fissure in the earth - found by reindeer herders - reported that it was around 4 metres in width and 'about 100 metres' deep. Pictures: Sergei Lapsui and Stanislav Yaptune

Locals wrongly suspected it was another exploding space object falling from the sky, it is believed. This is the first known account of the explosive sound, and a bright light in the sky for which - as yet - there seems no explanation.

Secondly, since the crater was formed in a 2013 blowout, the crater's size rapidly increased at least 15 times during the next year and a half, according to previously unreported scientific data.

It is expected to be even wider now but no recent scientific surveys have been made to the remote site.

Our pictures show the so-called Deryabinsky crevice in snow soon after it was formed, when the hole was some four metres in width, and the latest known pictures which illustrate how it is now a lake, some 70 metres in diameter.

Taimyr crater in Autumn 2014

The height of the northern wall from the water level was measured as six metres, and the water depth 12 metres. The southern wall 10 metres in height, and the depth 18 metres: but it was not possible to measure the deepest point. Picture: Vladimir Epifanov

Thirdly, so rapidly is the landscape around the crater changing that experts predict the walls of the crater lake will soon collapse it will merge with a nearby long-established lake.

Whatever the original cause of the explosion heard over a vast area, the collapse is seen as being due to melting permafrost, and the walls of the crater caving in.

The height of the northern wall from the water level was measured as six metres, and the water depth 12 metres. The southern wall 10 metres in height, and the depth 18 metres: but it was not possible to measure the deepest point. As previously stated, the original hole was estimated as 100 metres deep.

Russia is monitoring by satellite the sites of potential new eruptions across huge swathes of the permafrost north of Siberia, amid suspicions that climate change has stoked a new natural phenomenon.

When this Taimyr hole first appeared, and many more in Yamal peninsula, known to locals as 'the end of the world', there were varied claims as to the cause: theories ranged from meteorites, to stray missiles, and a manmade prank to outlandish claims that this was the work of aliens.

Dr Vladimir Epifanov

Novosibirsk scientist Dr Vladimir Epifanov is the sole leading expert to so far visit the site. Picture: Taimyr Museum of Local Lore

There was also the theory that the trigger was an explosive cocktail of methane or other underground gas. One account when it the Taimyr hole first appeared stated: 'It is not like the work of men, but it also doesn't look like natural formation.'

Scientists now appear to agree that other recently-formed Siberian holes were caused by climate warming releasing previously frozen gases, but there is a claim that a different process is at work in the Taimyr crater.

On the Yamal peninsula, the main theory is that the craters were formed by pingos - dome-shaped mounds over a core of ice - erupting under pressure of methane gas released by thawing of permafrost caused by warming temperatures.

Pictures highlighted by The Siberian Times in recent years show this dramatic new permafrost phenomenon on land, but it is also clear that underwater mounds in the Kara Sea are leaking methane gas with potentially hazardous consequences for energy exploration in the area.

One theory is that huge and sudden methane releases from these leaking sea-floor hillocks cause the phenomenon known as the Bermuda Triangle which has led to shipping and air tragedies in the Altantic.

First pictures from inside the 'crater at the end of the world'

Exclusive new pictures INSIDE mystery Siberian crater

Solved? How scineitsts say mystery craters were formed in northern Siberia

Startling changes revealed in mystery craters in northern Siberia

Yamal hole

How did the famous Yamal crater change from July 2014 to September 2015. Pictures: Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous region governor's press-service, Vasily Bogoyavlensky, Vladimir Pushkarev Picture: Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous region governor's press-service

Land-based Yamal craters were previously pingos, or mounds with an ice core common in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, says leading authority Professor Vasily Bogoyavlensky.

Warming over a number of years caused melting and the vacant space inside the ice humps was filled with natural gas, mainly methane, which eventually triggered eruptions, he believes.

Dr Epifanov has a different explanation for the Taimyr eruption, suggesting it originated at a depth that means it could not be linked directly to climate change, namely the degradation of gas hydrates some 500 metres below the surface, releasing methane which accumulated at a depth of 100 metres.

He sees the process of degassation as being normal in permafrost regions.

Dr Epifanov is from the Siberian Research Institute of Geology, Geophysics and Mineral Resources, in Novosibirsk.

The Siberian Times thanks Larisa Stryuchkova and 'Neizvestny Norilsk' ('Unknown Norilsk') Magazine for the reports and images.

 

[Laura]

Fascinating information about this mystery. In ancient Irish annals, there are several accounts of lakes being suddenly formed by erupting out of the earth.

 

[Gary]

Apparently new info on the craters and their formation in Siberia - i've searched and can't see it posted here or on sott:

It was posted on sott a few days ago, link is here:

https://www.sott.net/article/319928-New-info-on-crater-hole-in-Siberia-Explosion-and-glow-in-sky-witnessed-100-km-away

In ancient Irish annals, there are several accounts of lakes being suddenly formed by erupting out of the earth.

That is very interesting. I wonder how many more countries have similar accounts in their ancient histories. Given that as the article states "It was about one month after the Chelyabinsk meteorite" that seems to suggest there may be a strong correlation between the two phenomena; cometary/meteor bombardment AND the earth literally 'opening up' - two manifestations of the same 'electrical discharge' perhaps.

From this thread 'Fireball creates tail in advance?'

It caught my eye that this fireball apparently created some kind of glowing tracks in its path BEFORE it crossed that location, and that TWICE.

Did this fireball have smaller fragments that entered atmosphere along the same trajectory before, leaving behind ionized air that later lit up when the main piece approached?

http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,41977.0.html

Maybe the larger the cometary body, the more powerful the subsequent explosion? There seems to be many more 'intense' explosions occurring nowadays; from buildings, industrial plants to small camping gas canisters, cars and electrical devices etc. This increase could well be indicative of the increased meteor activity we are witnessing - bearing in mind that we don't often get records (images or videos) of them, particularly the smaller ones.

Just as vast quantities of methane were the 'fuel' for these Siberian crater-lakes ignited by a larger cometary body; pressurized flammable liquids/gases or lithium batteries even may be the 'fuel' for much smaller electrical discharges perhaps.

 

[The Mechanic]

I stumbled upon an RT documentary about this phenomenon in Siberia, for those who've missed it too (it's from 2015):
from

The Permafrost Mystery: scientists explore giant Yamal Sinkhole

The appearance of giant craters in Siberia sparked dozens of wild theories about their origins, from meteorites to UFOs. An RT Doc crew travelled to the region to try to find explanations for the geological mystery. Mysterious giant craters have started to appear in Siberia, some say they're a new phenomenon others that they have existed since the dawn of time. This riddle of nature attracted RT Doc to the land of the nomadic Nenets. Our team met visiting scientists and locals, in search of answers either from research data or ancient legend. The natives dismiss scientific explanations for the sinkholes preferring to believe the craters are a “connection to another world.” Anyone who lives there, including the nomads who roam the tundra must hear the voice of the Earth. So they believe that something extraordinary happened, and that the reason behind it is supernatural. Science on the other hand offers a much more prosaic explanation, pointing to the fact that the sinkholes have appeared in a gas-rich region. However, there is one mystery that not even the scientists can answer: the holes are perfectly round. What’s more, dozens of smaller sinkholes have been found around giant ones. The first massive craters were discovered in 2014 by helicopter pilots in the Yamalo-Nenets region in Siberia. The RT Doc filming crew used a helicopter themselves to take a closer look at the sinkholes and how they turn into lakes. Looking into the mystery holes of the Russian Yamal peninsula is an experience of a lifetime. The largest of the craters, discovered a year ago, is 60 meters deep and could accommodate a 25-storey building. But the craters aren't the only unusual site in this land of permafrost which had another surprise in store for our filmmakers. While filming they found mammoth bones that have remained hidden for ages, literally. The locals were worried that taking them away would be bad luck. “If you take a mammoth tusk from the permafrost, you should kill a deer, in the place where you found it" – they explained. Our team didn’t have a deer to spare, so the mammoth bones respectfully remained in their rightful place.

 

[Chad]

A new hole has been found on the Yamal Peninsula. This one is 50 metres deep and they found debris 'hundreds of metres away from the epicentre', suggesting it may have opened with a bang. Apparently a crew travelling over the region in July of this year noticed that the soil was swollen, and they think this is where the new crater now is. Pics in the Siberian Times article quoted below:

New 50-metre deep 'crater' found blasted open on Yamal peninsular, Siberia


Anna Liesowska
The Siberian Times
Sat, 29 Aug 2020 22:12 UTC







© by Vesti Yamal
The new funnel filmed from air by the team of Yamal-based TV station. July 2020
Blocks of soil and ice thrown hundreds of metres from epicentre of the funnel at the Yamal peninsula.

The recently-formed new hole or funnel is the latest to be seen in northern Siberia since the phenomenon was first registered in 2014.

It was initially spotted by chance from the air by a Vesti Yamal TV crew en route from an unrelated assignment.

A group of scientists then made an expedition to examine the large cylindrical crater which has a depth of up to 50 metres.

Such funnels are believed to be caused by the build up of methane gas in pockets of thawing permafrost under the surface.






© Vasily Bogoyavlensky
Pictures of B1, the very first funnel seen in summer 2014 on the Yamal peninsula, and a map of the first four funnels in both Yamal and Taymyr peninsula.
Scientist Dr Evgeny Chuvilin, a leading researcher at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, said: 'What we saw today is striking in its size and grandeur.

'These are the colossal forces of nature that create such objects.'

The 'crater' - these holes are called hydrolaccoliths or bulgunnyakhs by scientists - is given the number 17, and is seen as the most impressive of the large holes to suddenly appear in recent years as the permafrost thaws.

Professor Vasily Bogoyavlensky, of the Russian Oil and Gas Research Institute in Moscow, told Vesti Yamal: 'This object is unique. It carries a lot of additional scientific information, which I am not yet ready to disclose.

'This is a subject for scientific publications. We have to analyse all this, and build three-dimensional models.'

© Vesti Yamal
A new funnel was noticed by chance by a crew of Vesti Yamal TV as they were flying from an unrelated assignment. Pictures from July 2020 by Vesti Yamal

© Vesti Yamal

The craters appear because 'gas-saturated cavities are formed in the permafrost...

'In a literal sense, a void space filled with gas with high pressure. The covering layer distends, the thickness of which is 5-10 metres approximately.'

Explosions have happened in swelling pingos, or mounds in the tundra which erupts when the gas builds up under a thick cap of ice.

Bogoyavlensky has previously claimed that human activities, like drilling for gas from the vast Yamal reserves could be a factor in the eruptions.

He is concerned at the risk of ecological disasters if pingos build up close to a gas pipelines, production facilities or residential areas.

'In a number of areas, pingos - as we see both from satellite data and with our own eyes during helicopter inspections - literally prop up gas pipes,' he said previously.