Mysterious Siberian crater discovered

[Hum]

A helicopter flying over a region of Sibera referred to as the ?end of the world,? recorded footage of a mysterious, giant crater in the middle of the ground estimated to be 260 feet in diameter.

 

At first, skeptical observers thought the images must be a fake. After all, it appears to be something out a summer science fiction blockbuster, with the giant hole appearing to descend infinitely below the surface.

But Russian officials confirmed the crater?s existence and say they are sending a team of experts to investigate the site located in an area known as the Yamal peninsula. Scientists from the Center for the Study of the Arctic and the Cryosphere Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences plan to take samples from around the scene.

 

Experts say it?s probably not the result of a giant meteor crash or a sinkhole, even though Siberia was home to the famous Tunguska Explosion of 1908.

 

The leading theory is that the crater is actually a natural phenomenon known as a ?pingo.? A pingo, or hydrolaccolith, occurs when ice pushes up from underneath the ground. In this case, climate change may have caused the ice to melt, resulting in a crater where the earth-covered frost once stood.

more & video

[n_K]

Interesting...

[neufuse Veteran]

everyone knows that  the Tunguska Explosion was caused by Nicola Tesla with the help of Aliens..

[HawkMan]

I wonder who the experts who think it's a sinkhole is.

 

It'd be the first sinkhole ever with crater walls, and would be worth of further scientific research how that happened... or they're just making ###### up. 

[LOC Veteran]

Oh no, the movie This is the End started like this! The rapture is coming!

[Hum]

:o

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

Actually, they say it is the champagne effect of gasses underground that blew up.    The ice pushed up is a possible version too.

 

 

Sinkhole...   laughable theory.

[LOC Veteran]

Maybe it's because of all the frakking we are doing here! We're ruining Siberia now!

[streetw0lf]

Giant ant hole.  Ever see the 1954 movie 'Them'?

[FloatingFatMan]

Going out on a limb here, but I reckon.. Meteor strike and there was a subsurface cavern so the ground collapsed from the impact.

[Torolol]

somehow remind me of sinkhole

[Steven P. Administrators]

somehow remind me of sinkhole

Sinkholes almost always never leave a mound though? interesting for sure.

[+Elі Subscriber²]

"Pingo" :D  that's a bad word in Spanish.

[Pupik]

 

So far just gases that were released naturally. Yamal Peninsula known as a gas rich region.

[xrobwx71]

Sinkholes almost always never leave a mound though? interesting for sure.

You are correct, we have a lot of them here in Florida, USA and they are the opposite of a mound. I have seen them collapse and leave part of a mound beside it but never the "cause" of the mound.  :)

[LittleNeutrino Veteran]

they happen on the moon to. i was just reading an article about them yesterday.

 

http://www.science20.com/news_articles/mare_pits_on_the_moon_could_shelter_astronauts-140820

[Hum]

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Two more craters of unknown origin have been spotted in Russia's Siberia region, weeks after a similar-looking hole was found in the isolated northernmost area, a local paper reported.

The Siberian Times, an English-language newspaper, published pictures of two new giant holes discovered by reindeer herders, one located in the Yamal and the other in the Taymyr peninsula, both above the Arctic circle.

The paper said that theories of their origin range from meteorites or stray missiles to aliens or an underground gas explosion. The report could not be confirmed independently.

Russian state TV reported earlier this month that a giant hole had appeared in the gas-rich Yamal peninsula where temperatures plummet below -50 degrees Celsius (-58 degrees Fahrenheit) and the sun barely rises in winter.

A Russian scientific expedition arrived at the site to inspect the first crater, nicknamed the "Yamal black hole", earlier this month, according to a recent report by state-run Vesti.ru website.

more

[LittleNeutrino Veteran]

rather strange that they are only happening (or at least being noticed) in russia.

[Hum]

^ Russia covers a big area.

 

Perhaps these are from some Military weapon test.

 

I like the underground gas explosion theory. :laugh:

[HawkMan]

rather strange that they are only happening (or at least being noticed) in russia.

 

Technically they're only happening in a special geologic area of siberia. 

 

most likely cases are underground gas explosions.

 

or it could be old underground cavitys from underground nuke tests combined with the geology of the area causing gas explosions to rupture the top. but then they wouldn't end scientists there. 

[Torolol]

is there any seismic report for particular area?