The new research answers persistent questions about the explosive tundra of Siberia

Are you looking for another reason to worry about climate change? No? Well, here is one anyway. The increase in global temperatures causes a spontaneous explosion of parts of the Siberian tundra.

Scientists have been studying this bizarre phenomenon since 2014, when a mysterious hole 165 feet deep (50 meters deep) suddenly appeared on the Yamal peninsula in northwestern Siberia. Since then, they have identified more than a dozen similar craters in the Yamal and Gyda peninsulas and have linked their training to climate change, but key questions remain. Now a new study could offer long -awaited answers.

The mystery of the sudden holes of Siberia

Research published Monday in the journal Science of the Total Environment is based on previous work which has revealed that the single geology of the region – against the rise in temperatures – can trigger sudden rashes of methane gas under the permafrost. While the Pergélisol Déget, the water infiltrates underground pockets of salt water called Cryopegs, launching this process.

In the Yamal peninsula, the Cryopegs measure approximately 3 feet (1 meter) of thickness and seated up to 165 feet (50 meters) underground. Below is another layer filled with crystallized methane. While the cast iron water infiltrates the cryopegs, the pressure is built, creating cracks in the soil that goes towards the surface. This reverses the pressure gradient, causing a sudden drop in deep pressure which damages methane crystals and – boom! – draw an explosive release of methane gas.

It seems plausible, right? But the results did not explain why the explosions only occur in Siberia, even if the rest of the Arctic warms quickly. In fact, none of the existing models for craters have been able to answer this question, Helge Hellevang – an environmental geoscientist at the University of Oslo and the main author of the new study – launched the New York Times.

Catching the case: Why Siberia?

To go to the bottom of this, he and his colleagues critically examined these existing models. The team concluded that the craters are too large to explain by ruptures of small only gas pockets. They built their own computer models to acquire a more nuanced understanding of their training, noting that it can be linked to flaws in the region.

The gas and the heat rising through the defects of the deep subsoil can become trapped in a cavity sealed under permafrost, suggest their models. While the permafrost melts, this seal is weakening. Meanwhile, the pressure is built inside the cavity as higher temperatures release the gas trapped under the ice. This, combined with highly under pressure gas which rises from defects below, can ensure that the entire system has become Kablooey.

Thus, the deep heat and the gas rising under permafrost are probably the main cause of these craters, according to Hellevang and his colleagues. Atmospheric heating always plays a role, although indirectly. Warming accelerates the thaw, weakening the permafrost and helping the new lakes and the rivers to form. This opens the ground so that gas and heat move through faults and trigger explosions.

“As atmospheric heating and weakening of surface permafrost (continue), it is likely that more explosions will occur,” Hellevang in NYT told. He said he would like to observe how these gas craters turn into lakes over time to see if they come to look like other lakes in the region. This could help explain the origin of some of the many round lakes that dapple the landscape of Siberia.