Giant, Mysterious Hole in Siberia: Video - Facts

Story:

Massive crater suddenly appears in Siberia Yamal (Russia).

Other Versions

1. Mysterious giant hole suddenly appears in Siberia.

2. Giant crater appears at the ‘end of the world’ in SIBERIA

Analysis:

A video widely shared online claims to show a massive, mysterious hole formed in Yamal region of Siberia in Russia. Although many suspected the authenticity of the video, it is genuine, the news about the giant crater has been reported ever since it was found in July 2014. The remote discovery raised many speculations, including that it could be the UFO arrival at the ‘end of the world’ in Siberia, because Yamal translates as “the end of the world”.

Picture of Giant, Mysterious Hole in Siberia, Video — Giant, Mysterious Hole in Siberia, Video

The news about the mysterious crater first appeared in The Siberian Times (SiberianTimes.com) on 15 July 2014, which said the gigantic hole’s sudden appearance in the Yamal Peninsula was first spotted by helicopters. The giant hole that was initially thought to have been formed around two years ago baffled scientists as to what might be responsible for its formation. Interestingly, since then, two new craters were reported in Siberia — one measuring 50-foot in the Taz district and another in the Taymyr Peninsula measuring 200 to 330 foot.

A team of scientists went on an expedition to the site in Yamal Peninsula to probe the causes of the giant crater that has appeared in gas-rich northern Siberia. From the aerial images, experts estimated the mysterious hole could be up to 262 feet wide. Meanwhile, there came up few theories to explain the formation in the permafrost region:

Theories

1. Gas Explosion/Global Warming

According to a Russian expert, the cause of the massive crater is likely to be global warming releasing gases under the surface that exploded like a champagne cork. Experts also said the darkening around the inner rim of the crater indicates ‘severe burning’ at the edges.

Anna Kurchatova from the Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Centre thinks the giant hole was formed by a mixture of water, salt and gas igniting an underground explosion, again, a result of global warming. She theorized that gas accumulated in ice might have mixed with sand beneath the surface, and then mixed with salt, pointing that the area was a Sea some 10,000 years ago.

It should be noted that Yamal region is gas rich, sitting atop a reservoir of natural gas that is the largest in Russia. The giant crater is in fact located less than 20 miles (about 30 kilometers) from Yamal’s biggest gas field Bovanenkovo.

2. Meteorite Striking

Some people said the hole was formed by a meteorite striking this lonely spot in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region. However, a spokesman from the Yamal Emergencies Ministry said it is not because of any meteorite. A meteorite of that size could not have gone unnoticed.

3. Sinkhole

The giant hole also resembles a very large sinkhole (similar to the one formed in Guatemala), which some people said is caused by collapsing rock beneath the hole because of yet unknown factors.

5. Pingo Effect

After observing the images of the giant hole in Siberia, Dr. Chris Fogwill at the University of New South Wales in Australia said it looks like a periglacial feature, perhaps a collapsed Pingo. He told The Sydney Morning Herald (smh.com.au), “This is obviously a very extreme version of that, and if there’s been any interaction with the gas in the area, that is a question that could only be answered by going there.” A Pingo is a geological phenomenon where a block of Earth is covered by ice that can be found in the Arctic and subarctic.

Initial Discoveries of Expedition Team

The expedition organized by the Yamal authorities comprised of a team that planned to take samples of soil, air and water from the scene. From the first visit to the site and initial studies, the team found that the 50 to 70 meters deep crater was more of oval shaped than circular. Interestingly, they discovered a 28 inch layer of permafrost around the hole’s edge, and an icy lake at its bottom with water cascading down its eroding permafrost walls. While the video below gives you some glimpses from the site in Siberia, you can see some pictures of the giant hole in Images.

As of this writing, like told by a geophysicist Vladimir Romanovsky to livescience.com, the most probable explanation is believed to be explosion below the ground, and the giant crater could be some type of Sinkhole, but the precise date of formation and cause remain unknown. It was also suggested that the remote site lay undiscovered for months if not years. Experts even said it is not the evidence of any arrival of UFO craft to our planet.