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'Siberia is indeed a land of superlatives: bigger than Europe and the US combined, with the biggest gas reserves in the world'
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Siberian exploding holes 'are the key to Bermuda Triangle' - scientists

By 0 and 0 and 0
10 October 2014

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'The main element - and this is our working theory to explain the Yamal crater - was a release of gas hydrates'. Picture: The Siberian Times 

The craters - two in Yamal and one on the Taymyr peninsula - were revealed during the summer, leading to urgent analysis by scientists as well as a wave of speculation suggesting the cause was aliens from outer space, meteorites, or stray missiles. 

Now respected Science in Siberia journal has come up with a coherent explanation for the northern craters and - sensationally - links it to the notorious Bermuda Triangle phenomenon, where ships and aircraft have disappeared under strange circumstances between Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico.

Heating from above the surface due to unusually warm climatic conditions, and from below, due to geological fault lines, led to a huge release of gas hydrates,  say the scientists from the Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum-Gas Geology and Geophysics in Novosibirsk.

Same phenomenon of discharge of gas hydrates 'led to crater formation in Russia and disappearance of ships in Atlantic'


Same phenomenon of discharge of gas hydrates 'led to crater formation in Russia and disappearance of ships in Atlantic'


Same phenomenon of discharge of gas hydrates 'led to crater formation in Russia and disappearance of ships in Atlantic'

Science in Siberia call the craters 'a distant relative of Bermuda triangle'. Pictures: The Siberian Times 

They subjected one of the two known craters in Yamal - a peninsula known to locals as 'the end of the world' - to detailed scrutiny. 

'The main element - and this is our working theory to explain the Yamal crater - was a release of gas hydrates. It turned out that there are gas hydrates both in the deep layer which on peninsula is several hundred meters down, and on the layer close to the surface,' said scientist Vladimir Potapov.

Gas - notably methane - is trapped in the frozen hydrates under the permafrost and beneath some oceans. 

'There might be another factor, or factors, that could have provoked the air clap. Each of the factors added up and gas exploded, leading to appearance of the crater. 'The crater is located on the intersection of two tectonic faults. Yamal peninsula is seismically quiet, yet the area of the crater we looked into has quite an active tectonic life', Potapov said. 

Crucially, the surface ice and upper layers of permafrost were exposed to 'a much warmer summer than usual', as Tyumen scientist Marina Leibman earlier noted. Igor Yeltsov, the Trofimuk Institute's deputy head, stressed: 'There is a theory that the Bermuda Triangle is caused by gas hydrates.'  

He explained: 'They start to actively decompose with methane ice turning into gas. It happens in an avalanche-like way, like a nuclear reaction, producing huge amounts of gas. That makes the ocean heat up, and ships sink in waters which are infused with huge amounts of gas. This leads to the air becoming supersaturated with methane, creating an extremely turbulent atmosphere, leading to aircraft crashes'.

Same phenomenon of discharge of gas hydrates 'led to crater formation in Russia and disappearance of ships in Atlantic'


Same phenomenon of discharge of gas hydrates 'led to crater formation in Russia and disappearance of ships in Atlantic'


Same phenomenon of discharge of gas hydrates 'led to crater formation in Russia and disappearance of ships in Atlantic'

Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum-Gas Geology and Geophysics' researches work at Yamal crater. Pictures: Media Centre of SBRAS

Science in Siberia call the craters 'a distant relative of the Bermuda triangle'. The experts conducted tomographic, radiometry and magnetic surveys at the site. 

'We checked magnetic and radiation backgrounds, and found no abnormalities there,' said Oleg Kushnarenko, chief engineer on the four and a half day mission.

Potapov stressed the need for further study.

'We have to continue works by all possible means. We all have to keep suggesting hypotheses and testing them, because the crater itself is an incredibly interesting from the scientific point of view, and secondly because things like this crater can make a strong impact on the development of Yamal's infrastructure. 

'This was a recce trip that would allow us set agenda for the next trip, or trips, and give us basic understanding of what could have happened. We must also pay attention to areas where the same thing might potentially happen'.

The current theory should carry 'health warnings', he emphasised. 'We are still in the process of interpreting them. One thing is clear - it was not a single reason that led to the gigantic explosion. It was like a bouquet of flowers, where each of them added something and together they led to the explosion - but at this stage we are unable to say how each of these 'flowers', or factors, that came together, actually worked'.

Watch July 2014 expeditition to Yamal crater

The expedition was initiated by both director of the institute, academician Mikhail Epov, and the head of Nadym Gazprom Mining, Sergey Menshikov. 

'It is quite a rare case of a state corporation and a scientific body uniting resources,' said Dr Yeltsov, approvingly. 'Our partners provided us with helicopters and special equipment, allowing us to carry all necessary researches in the area with a high possibility of methane ignition. We pulled some money from other projects and got the rest of equipment together.'

Chief engineer Kushnarenko said: 'We didn't manage to do some things either because of the lack of time, or security reasons. For example, there was a great temptation to go down the crater, but the Institute didn't give a go ahead saying it was too risky.'

The crater they studied is in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous, some 30 kilometres from the Bovanenkovo gas field. It is up to 70 metres deep, but the hole is not as wide as initial reports suggesting it was between 50 and 100 metres wide.

See previous stories on the craters:

Large crater appears at the 'end of the world'

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

Now two NEW large holes appear in Siberia

Foreign scientists welcome to join research into Siberia's mysterious giant holes 

Comments (16)



Jandino, Andrea De Alba - Nadie nos va a parar (From "BIA")
Tonyaexala, Andorra La Vella
29/10/2020 13:04
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I got attacked by a Ostrich... It was bad
BettySed, Bamako
24/10/2020 03:30
1
0


SUPER MR P...
BettyCaw, Carthage
21/09/2020 01:58
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Mabey there just holes
Me me , Texas
17/04/2015 23:00
0
1
One wonders if the holes were burned into the ground from above rather than below - testing of some 'black project' space-based directed energy weapons, perhaps? What better place to try to keep them 'off the radar' than the uninhabited stretches of Siberia? Probably just dumb luck they were discovered so soon.
james, raleigh/us
02/03/2015 04:43
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4
check the russian nuke tests in the 1950s they prob set a s load of them off
jim savage, maine
27/02/2015 17:50
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NUTS
bob, u.s.
24/02/2015 06:10
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Very plausible and likely explanation. Robust exploration with limited resources in the field. Send a drone down in the crater!

Ken the Geologist
Ken, USA
30/12/2014 21:32
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i don't buy it, but it's not nuts and it's certainly novel.
Jackson, Santa Fe NM
26/10/2014 03:40
1
5
The scientists are making it up as they go along



They might as well just sing a "Laughing Gas" song.
jojnjo, Dublin.
17/10/2014 08:34
0
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You people do know that there is no such thing as the Bermuda Triangle, right? If you do a statistical analysis of the number of ships and planes lost, then, for the density of the shipping lanes, it is exactly the same as everywhere else in the world. Even mentioning such a connection makes people doubt your scientific credentials.
Sion, UK
16/10/2014 19:35
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we can obviously see a high velocity impact by something like a full metal jacket bullett.
Nothing else can explain this pattern.
Granfred, Chambery
15/10/2014 22:51
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Here is a link to some work that may help with what you are doing,
http://www.grahamhancock.com/phorum/read.php?f=2&i=289504&t=289367
Michael seabrook, St. Helens uk
13/10/2014 03:40
2
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LOL! Sinkholes are the key to the Bermuda Triangle, huh? HILARIOUS that they blame these, too, on Global Warming! How do they know it wasn't unicorns, or exploding rocks?
Defiant, Rochester, NY USA
13/10/2014 00:29
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Take. The. Satellite. Images. Back- They will show formation
robbie bobbie, shepardsville
11/10/2014 21:37
4
3
12

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