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Giant Crater Appears In Northern Siberia

Posted by Soulskill on from the when-earth-attacks dept.

New submitter DavidMZ writes: The Siberian Times reports on a large crater of unknown origin that has appeared in the Yamal Peninsula in northern Siberia. The Russian government has dispatched a group of scientists to investigate the 80-meter-wide crater. Anna Kurchatova from Siberia's Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Center believes the crater was a result of an explosion when a mixture of water, salt, and natural gas exploded underground. The Yamai Peninsula is known to hold Russia's biggest natural gas reserve."

6 of 122 comments (clear)

  1. Where are the giant hands of Goatse? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hmmm?

    1. Re:Where are the giant hands of Goatse? by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

      They are invisible, haven't you read Adam Smith?

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  2. As Always ... by Baby+Duck · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let me guess. The explosion was caught on a Russian dashcam, amirite?

    --

    "Love heals scars love left." -- Henry Rollins

  3. nothing new by darkob · · Score: 5, Informative

    There are thousends upon thousends of similar holes (all filled with water) on Yamal peninsula. Many are few kilometers in diameter, most are smaller. This one may be new, but quite common in the area. Obviously it's due to gas eruptions of some kind. Landscape is like from the LOTR.

  4. Warn Tokyo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It hatched.

  5. Further towards the tipping point... by Misagon · · Score: 5, Informative

    There are lots of gas pockets in Siberian and under the polar seas that are locked by cold temperatures only. As warming increases, more and more of these will burst, accelerating climate change.

    Scientists have been warning of these for many years. There has been lots of talks about a "tipping point" after which no reduction in man's greenhouse gas emissions would have any effect, when carbon levels in the atmosphere could increase because of cascading natural gas eruptions alone.
    This is why it is so important to reduce carbon emissions.

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    "We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley