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

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17 July 2014

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The crater has an icy lake at its bottom with water cascading down its eroding permafrost walls. Picture: Andrey Naumenko, 'Yamal-Region'

The crater on the Yamal Peninsula was caused by aliens, a meteorite, a stray missile, or an explosive gas cocktail released due to global warming, according to various theories in recent days.

Images of the remarkable phenomenon have gone round the world since The Siberian Times highlighted helicopter images of the giant hole earlier this week. 

The first expedition to the scene - the scientists have just returned - took these epic pictures of the hole, including the darkening pattern on the inner rim. 

Now they are using Russian satellite pictures to fix the moment when it suddenly formed. 

They found the crater - around up to 70 metres deep - has an icy lake at its bottom, and water is cascading down its eroding permafrost walls.

It is not as wide as aerial estimates which suggested between 50 and 100 metres.

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


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


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


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


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


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

The first scientific expedition has just returned from the site, now the experts are working with satellite pictures to fix the moment when the crater has formed. Pictures: Marya Zulinova, press service of the Governor YaNAO

While the team insist that it is a 'natural phenomenon', they insist further study is essential to understanding the formation of the crater in lake-studded Yamal - a name which means 'end of the world' in the local tongue. 

Andrey Plekhanov, Senior Researcher at the State Scientific Centre of Arctic Research, said: 'The crater has more of an oval than a circular shape, it makes it harder to calculate the exact diameter. As of now our estimates is about thirty metres.

'If we try to measure diameter together with soil emission, the so-called parapet, then the diameter is up to sixty meters.

'The crater is from 50 to 70 metres deep'.

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

The first look down the crater. Picture: Andrey Naumenko, 'Yamal-Region'

The researchers were unable to make their way to the bottom of the lake, but did go inside the crater. 

'There is ice inside the crater which gradually thaws under the sun.

'Also there is melted water flowing down from its sides, you can see water traces on the pictures. The crater is filled with ice by about eighty per cent. '

He stressed: 'We are working with space photographs to figure out exact time of its formation.

'We have taken soil and ice samples which went straight to laboratories. We can be certain in saying that the crater appeared relatively recently, perhaps a year or two  ago; so it is a recent formation, we are not talking about dozen years ago. 

'Could it be linked to the global warming? We have to continue our research to answer this question. 

'Two previous summers - years 2012 and 2013 were relatively hot for Yamal, perhaps this has somehow influenced the formation of the crater.

'But we have to do our tests and research first and then say it more definitively'. 

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


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

The crater is filled with ice by about eighty per cent. Pictures: Marya Zulinova, press service of the Governor YaNAO

The best theory for now is that the crater was formed by internal - not external - forces. 

'For now we can say for sure that under the influence of internal processes there was an ejection in the permafrost. I want to stress that it was not an explosion, but an ejection, so there was no heat released as it happened'.

Earlier scientists were sure there was burning visible on the sides of the crater. 

'I also want to recall a theory that our scientists worked on in the 1980s - it has been left and then forgotten for a number of years. 

'The theory was that the number of Yamal lakes formed because of exactly such natural process happening in the permafrost. 

'Such kind of processes were taking place about 8,000 years ago. Perhaps they are repeating nowadays. If this theory is confirmed, we can say that we have witnessed a unique natural process that formed the unusual landscape of Yamal peninsula. 

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


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


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


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


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


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


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

Experts examine the newly-discovered hole in the earth in Siberia. Pictures: Marya Zulinova, press service of the Governor YaNAO

'There was no traces of anthropogenic impact near the crater, just as there was no traces of human presence, except for very few sledge traces and of course reindeer traces.

'If it was a man-made disaster linked by gas pumping, it would have happened closer to the gas fields', Andrey Plekhanov told The Siberian Times. 

These are about 30 kilometres away. 'Gas workers would have been on alert, letting us know about it immediately.'

Denigrating speculation of aliens or UFOs he insisted:'There is nothing mysterious about it. There is no weird or unexplained feelings there, we came back safe and sound'.

Despite this, he said: 'I've never seen anything like this, even though I have been to Yamal many times.'

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


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


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

The hole is in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous, some 30 kilometres from the Bovanenkovo gas field. Pictures: Marya Zulinova, press service of the Governor YaNAO

The crater is different from others on Yamal.

'There is nothing mysterious here, it is simply Mother Nature's law with its internal pressure and changes in temperatures', Andrey Plekhanov said.

Marina Leibman,Senior Researcher at the Earth's Cryosphere Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said: 'About the future of the crater - its walls are constantly thawing, water is gathering up and I suspect that it gets frozen at the bottom of the crater. If the water stream intensifies - for example because of the hot second part of July - then it won't have enough time to freeze. This will likely lead to a formation of a new lake.'

Vladimir Pushkarev, Director of the Russian State Scientific Center of the Arctic Research, 'It is an interesting phenomenon, there is every sense in continuing scientific work on it and right now we are discussing the best ways of exploring the site.'

The hole is in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous, some 30 kilometres from the Bovanenkovo gas field. 

Anna Kurchatova from the 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. 

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 under soil ice, released gas causing an effect like the popping of a Champagne bottle cork, she suggests.

Yamal, a large peninsula jutting into Arctic waters, is Russia's main production area for gas supplied to Europe.

Comments (173)

These are attempts at unearthing depositories, but many of these depositories have been destroyed through geographical process
Anonomous, Southern Hemisphere
22/03/2021 02:51
1
0
Look like PITS to me...For ppl who think a whole lot and know nothing! Before y’all DOOMSDAY come, as yourself; what’s a man to gain the whole world and loose his own soul?? Death is inevitable but what comes after... JUDGEMENT! If you don’t know him, get to know him...JESUS CHRIST, my Lord and my Savior!
Anonymous, Anonymous
17/02/2021 20:47
0
0
It appears to be an expulsion. Is there any history of artesian type or high pressure water formations local? An artesian type pressure might explain the water scouring but in my opinion it would take something else to trigger the expulsion. I would consider hydrocarbon expulsion of natural gas or methane. Looking at the upper portion of the crater I’d consider a confined hydrological system with an artesian type well that developed over the spot. Under the floor of the aquifer would lie a large contained area of methane under high pressure. As the artesian leakage decreases pressure on the aquifer, the subglacial sediments between the water and the methane weaken. A tipping point is reached which results in a massive reslease of methane into the aquifer and towards the surface. When the weakened area at the artesian leakage is hit with the massive increase in pressure by the methane it results in a large expulsion thereby leaving our crater. Just this regular person’s opinion.
Jeremiah Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD USA
13/10/2018 08:10
1
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Look at those water erosions on the edge of the crater. Doesn't it take years and years and years for it to cut thru stone? Even takes ages for water to erode sandstone.. looks like its been there for quite some time to me. Very interesting i must say!
A guy, Swedän
17/08/2018 16:19
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.. a może coś zostało wyciągnięte z ziemi. Mało ziemi na obrzeżach, jakby tylko z wierzchniej warstwy!
Łuki, Słupsk, Polska
19/07/2018 13:55
1
0
It looks to me like the topsoil was blown aside from beneath. That MIGHT rule them out as being a series of sinkholes, but it doesn't rule out water as the culprit. That rock in the above photo is WATER cut. Can anybody Carbon date the root system of the dead grass in that topsoil? Maybe get a guess as to when (at least one of) these holes formed? Is there anything at all to indicate that they're connected by an aquafer?
Steve B , Idaho
17/05/2018 10:25
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Most likely its Yakjuj ang Makjuj (Gog and Magog) holes. It is consistent with Dzul Qarnain's story in Quran. I am not preaching to you guys, but just have a look at it. In one narration by Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him), the hole was opened by size of a ring (try make an O sign using your index and thumb finger). These creatures are savages, corruptors, and would kill everything in sight. They would even try to kill the angels. A lake could be drained in the blink of the eye. When they emerges, they are swarming on top of each other. That's how they are in numbers. God had promised this, where the impenetrable wall will someday collapsed to the ground. The end of the world is near my friends. May Allah saves us all.
Syafiq Rosni, Johore/Malaysia
20/09/2017 08:05
1
3
I guess the Second Coming is drawn very nearer now,, these events seem like end-times' signs..
Haseeb, Pakistan
01/08/2017 11:36
1
2
I say that in this incidents is error or false of humans bad activities.I don't know what is this,but I know that the earth was going to end.
Akhil kumar vs, Kanpur,Uttarpradesh,India
04/03/2017 10:13
1
1
http://news.yahoo.com/mystery-beach-blast-rhode-island-blamed-hydrogen-gas-185251792.html;_ylt=A0LEVjB2yt1VIPYAcScnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTBydDI5cXVuBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwM2BHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--
US beach exploded due to hydrogen and oxygen combination. So, is there hydrogen being expressed from the Earth's mantle? Is H2O being disassociated with explosive results? Very interesting.
katesisco, USA
26/08/2015 21:23
3
0
Wtf!! It clearly looks like if something came out of there.... i mean look at the smoothness of the hole. I dont think it was an explosion, look at how the soil around the hole.... It may sound crazy but who knows
Call Me Daddy, Lumberton,North Carolina
17/07/2015 15:21
5
2
superman's DOOMSDAY is coming..
Wesh, Neverland
27/05/2015 23:09
1
2
Very interesting event,but the scientist's theories sound like prapaganda for "Clmate Change" agenda.I believe it could be a natural event,but what has me puzzled is how smooth the walls are for such a new hole.Melting ice doesn't explain that very well.
Smith, S.C.
10/03/2015 17:15
29
6
I notice there is a riverbed approaching the hole. It is green and covered in grass or sometrhing, but you can clearly see it from the air. The hole is right in its path. Look at how water has been flowing in the area. ALso, how does the explosion hypothesis address the smoothness of the wall surfaces and the little scallops in the walls? THis clearly looks like fluid formation to me. The smoothness of the walls indicates a state or phase transition occurred like when ice turns from hard crystal into "soft" liquid or vapor. Not violent, brief explosion. That would not yield the smothness or scalloping.
Drake, Seattle, United Stated
01/03/2015 22:25
5
1
It is not *global warming*.



Sheesh.
Flechette, USA
03/12/2014 10:45
23
9

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