The capabilities of the Internet can hardly be overestimated. The video of a huge hole in the Yamal land interested and even alarmed the population of the district. Our neighbors in the Greater Urals did not remain indifferent either.
For several days after the footage of the hole in the ground appeared, people were desperately wondering: what is it? Various versions have been put forward: from science fiction to everyday life. The district authorities also became interested in the origin of the giant hole.
A minute-long video shot on a mobile phone by reindeer herders reached Lyudmila Lipatova last fall. The nomads claimed that the hole appeared exactly then - it was not there yet in the spring. The approximate location of the facility is 30 kilometers from the Bovanenkovskoye field. Lyudmila Fedorovna showed that video recording to many, but it did not arouse much interest. This Yamal phenomenon attracted everyone’s attention only after it hit the Internet. On various resources, videos with a huge hole in the tundra are breaking viewing records. The response from the virtual community was immediate. The comments are full of guesses of all kinds. Some people think it's just a prank. Someone suspects aliens. There are also “down-to-earth” versions. Looking at the Yamal crater, many draw parallels with last year’s Chelyabinsk meteorite.
An asteroid with a diameter of about 17 meters and a mass of 10 thousand tons entered the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of approximately 18 kilometers per second. At an altitude of 15-26 km from the surface of the earth in the vicinity of Chelyabinsk, the superbolite exploded. Of all the celestial bodies that have fallen on our planet in recent centuries, the Chelyabinsk meteorite was one of the most outstanding. In size it would be second only to the mysterious Tunguska meteorite.
Ivan Nestorov, professor at the Tyumen University of Oil and Gas, has extensive experience in geology. Looking at an amateur video of the Yamal tundra, it suggests that such a crater could have been left by a so-called “silent” meteorite.
Another collapse of the earth's surface occurred in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. In April last year, a local hunter contacted the administration of the village of Nosok, who discovered the crater and took several photographs against its background. Local scientists, gas workers and geologists urgently gathered for an emergency meeting, thinking and wondering where the hole in Noska came from? Various hypotheses have been put forward.
The Yamal failure was no less intriguing. Employees of the Siberian Institute of the Cryosphere went in search of answers. A mini-expedition to the Yamal Peninsula was organized on the initiative of the District Governor. The group is led by Marina Leibman, an experienced permafrost specialist. This is not her first time on Yamal soil. There is no hurry to draw conclusions before departure. “When we look, we process what we have collected, then we will somehow comment,” said Marina Leibman, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, chief researcher at the Institute of the Earth’s Cryosphere of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The first versions of what happened were voiced by employees of the Siberian Institute of the Earth's Cryosphere immediately after the landing. Instruments showed: there are no flammable gases here, the radiation level is normal. According to preliminary data, there was no explosion here. The same as a meteorite. The sinkhole was formed by a mechanical release of swamp gas. It accumulates in the permafrost, shallow from the surface, in so-called non-freezing lenses.
This is the first time that permafrost scientists have encountered this phenomenon. But they have the only version with methane emissions so far. No traces of human or equipment presence were found near the object. The diameter of the funnel along the inner edge is about 40 meters, along the outer edge - 60. It is not possible to determine the exact depth - this requires special climbing equipment. While they are interested in fragments of the ejection, they can tell what strength it was.
Samples of soil, air and water taken for research will help to understand in detail the nature of the phenomenon. Chemists, biologists and scientists involved in Quaternary geology will work with them. The data obtained will explain a lot. But now we can say with high probability: human activity has nothing to do with it. Similar funnels are found all over the world. Very picturesque and original decorations of the earth's surface in the form of sinkholes, lakes and depressions have long become a place of pilgrimage for tourists and a calling card of the places where they are located. It is possible that the Yamal pit will in the future become a picturesque tundra lake.
A giant sinkhole has been discovered in Yamal. Helicopter pilots serving oil and gas fields in Yamal, who photographed the crater from the air, report that its size is so large that you can safely descend inside in several Mi-8 helicopters.
A giant crater in Yamal may be the trace of an unknown meteorite
The failure is located several tens of kilometers from the Bovanenskoye field, which is the largest gas reserve in Yamal. According to Chelyabinsk Vestnik, a powerful underground flow is noisy at the bottom.
The author of the video with a helicopter flying over the crater, user Bulka, points out that the greenery around is a forest. He also points out that the soil around the crater was thrown out, and its dark color “indicates the effects of temperature.” Stormnews clarifies that the forest around is dwarf, but the size is nevertheless impressive.
The Tyumen-Kosmopoisk group emphasizes that the crater cannot be called an ordinary karst sinkhole: “Perhaps at first there was an explosion (artificial? meteorite?), then the soil under the crater fell into a fairly wide underground river.”
Chelyabinsk Vestnik, citing the pilots, reports that no survey work related to the detonation of powerful charges was carried out in these places. “The size of the crater (it can be indirectly assessed by looking at the greenery around the hole - these are trees, albeit dwarf ones, arctic) suggests that the power of the explosion was comparable to the power of a small atomic bomb,” the publication points out.
The governor's press service told Interfax that the expedition of scientists is scheduled for Wednesday (07/16/14). The funnel will be studied on site by one representative of the Earth Cryosphere Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and two employees of the Center for Arctic Studies. They will collect preliminary information - in particular, they will take water, soil and air tests.
It is possible that the resulting pit is a common natural phenomenon, a karst failure. “Such phenomena in Yamal are not new, it happened last year and the year before last. The land is sinking, the land is recovering, frozen soils behave unpredictably. The underwater river washed out the soil, it thawed, it fell. It got colder, everything froze, it recovered. That is, no There is no “guard” here,” noted a representative of the press service of the head of the region.
At the same time, the agency’s interlocutor noted that “some experts are inclined to think about some kind of meteorite phenomenon.” “In any case, you need to look on the spot to see if there are any fragments, fusions, and so on,” he explained.
Scientists will continue to study the unusual basin in Yamal
In Salekhard, participants in the first study of a deep basin on the Yamal Peninsula gave a press conference. They believe that the basin can turn into a lake. In their opinion, the unusual natural phenomenon should be studied further.
Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, chief researcher at the Institute of the Earth's Cryosphere of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Marina Leibman, senior researcher at the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Scientific Center for Arctic Studies Andrei Plekhanov, who went to the site of the crater formation, spoke in detail about what they saw, as well as about the work done.
Marina Leibman put forward an assumption about what could happen to the funnel in the future. “Now its walls are constantly thawing. The water accumulates, and I assume that it freezes below. If this flow of water increases, for example, there will be a very hot continuation of July, then it will not have time to freeze, and a lake will begin to form,” she said.
According to the director of the Russian Center for Arctic Development (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug) Vladimir Pushkarev, research into the identified natural phenomenon is planned to continue. “The phenomenon is interesting in itself. Discussions are ongoing to further explore the site. In fact, continuing scientific work makes sense,” he concluded.
Scientists study the Yamal "black hole"
In Yamal, scientists are exploring a mysterious crater. A giant crater with a diameter of 60 meters was discovered from a helicopter. Many versions immediately appeared on the Internet - where is it from? Did a meteorite fall or did aliens intervene? And here, finally, is the first scientific version.
For tens of kilometers around there is not a soul. A scientific expedition flies to the site of a giant crater found in the permafrost of Yamal. It is visible from the helicopter window, but it is dangerous to sit next to it - it is unknown what is there below.
This crater was first discovered by workers at one of the local gas fields. They also filmed it from a helicopter, and this video on the Internet gained millions of views in a matter of days. The pit was nicknamed the Yamal “black hole” on the Internet. There were all kinds of versions - from a meteorite fall to a terrible monster. The current scientific expedition should dispel - or confirm - one of them.
First of all, set up a tent. No one yet knows how long the study of the funnel will last. The scientists are clearly nervous. They go to the funnel itself carefully: under your feet, in the dense bush, there may be other smaller holes. Scientists admit that this is the first time in their lives that they have encountered such a phenomenon.
“It’s the first time that the hole has no drainage. The water is noisy. Don’t doubt it, it flows quickly along the walls. Because the sun is falling,” explains Marina Oskarovna Leibman, chief researcher at the Institute of the Earth’s Cryosphere of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“In those places in Yamal where I have been, I have not seen such things. And I have not heard such things from my colleagues,” says Andrei Plekhanov, senior researcher at the State Institution Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug “Scientific Center for Arctic Studies.”
Up close you can see that the walls of the funnel are constantly collapsing. They are washed away by the melt waters of the permafrost, so every day the radius of this giant hole is slowly increasing. You can hear thousands of streams roaring down to the bottom.
First - measurements for harmful effects: gases and radiation. “I’m trying to identify flammable gases with a gas analyzer. But so far I can’t find anything. In terms of radiation, everything is also normal, better than in the city,” says Andrei Plekhanov.
Then - exploration of scraps of earth. Scientists measure that some lumps of clay scattered tens of meters.
The farthest fragments are about 120 meters from the crater.
The first assumption is the release of subsoil. Due to temperature changes and the melting of underground glaciers, a gas ball could form in the ground, which eventually burst.
“Obviously, this is some kind of ejection from the bowels of the earth. I don’t think it was accompanied by an explosion - there is no fire or charring. Purely mechanical emission. One can assume something fantastic - some kind of meteorite fell here. When a meteorite falls, there is charring. This is not the case here,” says Marina Oskarovna Leibman.
This study is just the first. Soil samples and other measurements will now be studied in the laboratory. And geologists are looking to see if there are any other giant craters nearby. Or this will remain a unique pit in Yamal.
A second mysterious sinkhole was discovered in Yamal
In the Tazovsky district of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, local residents found a hollow similar to the one that was discovered on July 10 near the village of Bovanenkovo, Interfax reports.
The sinkhole became known from local reindeer herders. According to them, on September 27, 2013, a celestial body fell in this area (90 kilometers from the village of Antipayuta) and an outbreak occurred. Another reindeer herder only said that he saw smoke, a veil, and then a flash.
A video showing a crater near the village of Bovanenkovo appeared on the Internet on July 10. The recording immediately attracted the attention of the public (2 million people viewed it on YouTube). The resonance in the media forced the administration of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug to urgently send a scientific expedition to the crater with the participation of employees of the Yamalo-Nenets Scientific Center for Arctic Studies and the Institute of the Earth's Cryosphere of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Scientists measured the size of the crater and established the natural nature of this object. So far, the working hypothesis is that the crater was formed by the release of natural gas.
26.11.2015
From time to time our planet provides us with food for thought. One of them turned out to be a “hole” in the Earth, discovered by pilots in Yamal, the diameter of which was several hundred meters. This hole appeared not far from a large gas field - Bovanenkovskoye. And off we go.
People of science immediately began to argue about the origin of this failure. Professor Ivan Nesterov hypothesized that a crater was formed from a collision with a meteorite consisting of space ice that did not burn up in the atmosphere. Viktor Grokhovsky, a great expert on meteorites, told him a decisive “no”.
The expedition that went to the site of the failure took various measurements. Scientists took a sample of soil and water from the crater itself. They didn't forget about the air. In their opinion, the failure not only formed, but the rock was thrown out. In this case, no burns or charring were recorded. The preliminary conclusion of the expedition members is as follows: the explosion occurred inside the permafrost. How can it be? Permafrost for many kilometers inside, and suddenly an explosion?
Such a failure on the edge of the earth - Yamal, it turns out, is far from the first on the planet. Similar failures have already been recorded before. In 2010, in the center of the capital of Guatemala, for no apparent reason, an entire garment factory collapsed in the blink of an eye. Then, a few kilometers from this “black hole” a new one formed. Scientists discovered that both failures were formed after hurricanes. But it’s warm there, and in Yamal there is eternal cold and frozen ground.
It would seem that there is no connection between these territories. But it turned out that there is. Only in hot areas do hurricanes rage outside, and in permafrost - inside. Drilling generates waste that is pumped into the ice. So they burst out, forming such craters. There were such disasters in North and South America, in China, in New Zealand. And far from alone. In some cases, entire neighborhoods had to be evacuated.
In Brazil, more than a hundred houses instantly went underground. The reason here was the rain. But in our north there is more than one hole either. About five years ago, reindeer herders discovered a hole in the ground, the diameter of which was slightly smaller, but it appeared earlier than Bovanenkovsky. There were about five of them in total. And now it’s time for scientists to think about it. The pace of gas production in Yamal is growing, factories, villages, roads and other infrastructure for life are being built.
The task of scientists today is to eliminate natural surprises to a minimum. Without thorough research, it is difficult to predict further developments. Lest nature take revenge with some man-made disaster for our attitude towards it. But that's not all. Gas and oil production is carried out not only in the north, but also in Siberia. So, it can also be subject to cataclysms? Anything can happen, although I really wouldn’t want it. So what is the reason?
Both gas and oil have been produced for more than half a century, but holes only began to appear a few years ago. Scientists suggest that the reason is climate warming. Of course, the Arctic is more sensitive than the Siberian ecosystem. There is more ice and arctic permafrost there, and they are melting more intensely. Soils in permafrost are thawing, and this greatly worries scientists around the world. After all, climate change in our north entails climate change throughout the planet.
Now climatologists around the world are already confident that all the anomalies taking place in Asia, Europe, Africa, and America are caused by climate change and warming in our polar regions.
We should all think about the fact that nature does not forgive thoughtless interference in it. After all, it may be too late. And we must not forget about this. Much has already been done over the years when man considered himself the master and king of nature.
Yamal funnel [VIDEO]
Thanks to satellite images, more than 20 new holes have been identified in Yamal. “Dear Moscow scientist, professor, Vasily Bogoyavlensky, for safety reasons, called for an urgent investigation of a new phenomenon observed in the Arctic,” writes The Siberian Times.
Until now, only three large sinkholes were known, two of which are located in Yamal, they turned into lakes, and one in Taimyr. Scientists considered climate change to be the main reason for the appearance of holes, as a result of which gas hydrates began to be released from below, from geological faults, which causes the formation of these holes in the Arctic regions.
Russian scientists, using satellite images, were able to understand that the holes are more widespread than it seemed at first glance. One huge hole was identified, surrounded by twenty smaller holes.
“Now we know about seven large holes in the Arctic zone,” said Vasily Bogoyavlensky. "Five directly on Yamal, one crater in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, near the Taimyr Peninsula."
"We only have precise coordinates for four of the holes. The other three were spotted by reindeer herders. But I'm sure there are other craters on Yamal, we just need to look for them."
"I would compare it to mushrooms: when you find one mushroom, there are bound to be several around. I would guess there could be 20 to 30 holes or more in the Arctic."
Russian scientists are racing to quickly explore holes in the ground as there are serious concerns about security in these regions.
A study of satellite images showed that near the famous hole, located 30 km from Bovanenkovo, there are two potentially dangerous objects where a gas explosion could occur at any moment.
Bogoyavlensky warned:
"These sites need to be studied, but it is quite dangerous for researchers. We know that gases can escape there over a long period of time, but we don't know exactly when."
“For example, you all remember the magnificent images of the Yamal holes in winter, taken during the last expedition in November 2014. But did you know that Vladimir Pushkarev, director of the Russian Arctic Development Center, was the first person in the world to descend into the crater of gas emissions? It was very risky because no one could guarantee that there would be no new emissions at that moment."
Professor Bogoyavlensky said:
"One of the most interesting objects in Yamal is the crater, which is marked as B2, located 10 kilometers south of Bovanenkovo. On the satellite image you can see that this is one large lake surrounded by more than 20 small craters filled with water."
"By studying satellite images, we found out that initially there were no holes and lakes. First, some holes appeared in the ground, then more. Then, I believe, the holes filled with water and several lakes formed, and then they merged into one large lake, 50- 100 meters in diameter."
"This large lake is surrounded by more than 20 smaller lakes, and I believe new ones could have appeared last summer or even now. Now we want to count them and catalog them. Some of them are very small, no more than 2 meters in diameter. "
“We haven’t been there yet,” said the professor. “Probably some local reindeer herders have been there, but they are still not scientists.”
He explained:
"After studying this object, I am sure that there is a release of a number of gases over a long period of time. Unfortunately, we do not know exactly when these emissions occur, i.e. mainly in summer, or in winter too. We only see the results of this emission "
Object B2 is now attracting particular attention from researchers as they seek to understand and explain the new phenomenon on Earth. It is just 10 km from Bovanenkovo, a large gas field developed by Gazprom in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Old satellite images do not show the existence of a lake, nor craters or holes, at this location.
But only new holes, constantly forming in Yamal, show that the process of gas release continues very actively.
Professor Bogoyavlensky shows an image of one of the Yamal lakes, taken from a helicopter and points to a whitish haze on its surface.
He commented:
"This fog that you see on the surface shows that there are gas emissions that come from the bottomlakes to the surface. We call this process "degassing".
"We don't know whether there was a hole there before and then turned into a lake, or whether the lake formed during some other process. What's more important is that gases are actively leaking through this lake."
"Degassation was discovered in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug about 45 years ago, but now we think it may give us some clues about the formation of holes and gases. In any case, we must investigate this phenomenon urgently to prevent possible disasters. "
Professor Bogoyavlensky emphasized:
"Right now we can only talk about the results of our work in the laboratory, using images from space."
"Nobody knows what is happening in these holes in Yamal at the moment. We are preparing a plan for a new expedition. We also want to install at least four seismic stations in the Yamal region, so that they can record small earthquakes that occur when a sinkhole appears. "
"In two cases, local residents told us that they felt tremors. The nearest seismic station was still too far away to register these tremors."
Crater B3 located 90 kilometers from the village of Antipayuta, Yamal region (above on the map). Crater B4 is located in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, near the Taimyr Peninsula. The photographs were taken by local residents.
"I think we know enough about hole B1 for now. There have been several expeditions, we've taken samples and made measurements. I think we should visit the other craters, namely B2, B3 and B4, and then visit the other three holes , when we know their exact location. This will give us more information and bring us even closer to understanding the phenomenon."
Bogoyavlensky called:
"It's important not to scare people, but to understand that this is a very serious problem and we need to start researching."
In an article in the journal Drilling and Oil, Professor Bogoyavlensky said that the edges of the Yamal holes indicate an underground explosion.
“The absence of charred parts and signs of significant erosion due to possible water leaks argue in favor of a powerful eruption of (pneumatic exhaust) gases from a shallow underground reservoir, which left no traces on the soil containing a high percentage of ice,” the professor wrote.
"In other words, it was a gas-explosive mechanism that was working there. Methane concentrations of 5-16% are explosive. The most explosive concentration is 9.5%."
"The parapet of these holes in Yamal indicates an underground explosion." - Vasily Bogoyavlensky reported. "The gas is likely concentrated in a cavity that is formed by the gradual melting of buried ice, which turns into water, and then the gas comes out of the water."
"A summer's experience has shown that escaping gases can cause serious damage to drilling rigs, oil and gas fields and offshore pipelines," he said. "The Yamal holes are essentially like pockmarks on the face of the Earth."
“We do not rule out new releases of gases in the Arctic and in some cases they may ignite. This is possible in the hole near the village of Antipayuta on Yamal.”
"Residents of the village of Antipayuta told how they saw some kind of flash. The gas was probably ignited when the B4 crater appeared near the Taimyr Peninsula. This shows us that such an explosion can be very dangerous and destructive."
“We must answer the basic questions: in what areas and under what conditions do emerging openings in the Arctic pose the greatest danger? These questions are important for the safe operation of northern cities and the infrastructure of oil and gas complexes.”
The latest expeditions to Yamal to the sinkholes were initiated by the Russian center for Arctic exploration in early November 2014. The explorers were the first in the world to descend into the hole.
In the summer of 2014, a large sinkhole was discovered on the Yamal Peninsula, not far from the world’s largest Bovanenkovo oil and gas condensate field. This event aroused great interest not only in the scientific world, but also among ordinary people.
Researchers headed to the mysterious failure on the territory of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and by the end of 2014, three expeditions organized by the Center for Arctic Development visited the natural phenomenon. The expedition, in addition to scientists, included climbers and rescuers. Scientists descended to the bottom of the crater, took soil samples and measured air parameters. Thanks to the data obtained, it was possible to prove that the cause of this sinkhole was global warming.
It turned out that the formation of the crater occurred in the fall of 2013. In the summer of 2012–2013, before the crater appeared, the air temperature in Yamal was 5 degrees above normal. This is a significant deviation for the tundra, where summer temperatures, as a rule, do not exceed + 5-10 degrees. Due to such an anomaly, the permafrost, located at a depth of 20 meters, melted.
When the upper layers of underground permafrost begin to thaw under the influence of high temperatures, the methane gas contained in them is released. It is found in permafrost soils in the form of relict gas hydrates. Methane begins to rise to the surface of the earth through pores and cracks in the earth's crust, but permafrost prevents it from coming out. Under the pressure of compressed gas, the soil literally swells. A giant bubble or hill is formed, which is clearly visible against the background of the flat tundra landscape.
The same thing happened at the site of the formation of the Yamal crater, as evidenced by data obtained from satellite images.
In the photo: space images from the presentation of Marina Leibman Well, then the melted top layer cannot stand it and breaks out under the onslaught of methane. An explosion occurs, which is evidenced by parts of the soil scattered around the circumference of the crater, as well as at some distance from it.
In the first year after its formation, the Yamal crater was a crater about 35 meters deep, and its diameter on the surface was 40 meters. About a third of the sinkhole was already filled with water in 2014.
More than three years have passed since the formation of the crater in Yamal. At the site of its formation, almost nothing reminds of the giant hole that caused so much noise. It filled with water and looks no different from the numerous tundra lakes on the Yamal Peninsula. The diameter of the new lake is about 80 meters.
But the story with unusual funnels does not end there. Since the formation of the first sinkhole, several more similar natural objects have appeared in different parts of the tundra on the territory of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. In some cases, there are even eyewitnesses who claim that before the formation of the hole, a flash was visible and smoke was observed. All of them are smaller in diameter than the first funnel, but have a similar reason for their appearance - global warming. And the tundra has already begun to respond to the climate changes taking place on our planet.
