"Gate of Hell" on Yamal Peninsula: If all methane is released, it can blow up the whole earth

In the northwestern part of Siberia, Russia, rectangular circular craters are constantly being formed, which local residents call the "Gate of Hell". How did they form? Why is it associated with "hell"? Is it dangerous?

Not long ago, Russian experts officially released their source and safety report, and the findings of the study are disturbing.

Giant sinkhole on the Yamal Peninsula

The giant pits on the Yamal Peninsula, looking down from the sky, will make you feel that you are not on earth at all. On the moon, or on Mars. What is the force that makes the giant craters form on the permafrost in the Yamal Island area near the Arctic Circle? There is no doubt that this is a force of nature, one of the consequences of global warming.

Locals call these potholes "gates to hell" or "gates to the underworld", when in fact Russian experts call them molten craters.

Last summer, the team of the Russian TV station «Вести Ямал» accidentally discovered the largest ever molten crater on the Yamal Peninsula while filming the material for a documentary. The pit is 30 meters deep and can fit a 10-story building. . The drone sent into the pit took many photos and created a 3D model of the pothole.

giant explosion

The caves formed huge bottoms and rocky cliffs around the caves, all of which confirmed some previous speculations by Russian scientists: rising temperatures in Siberia and the melting of permafrost on the top of the soil created the voids.

These potholes accumulate methane, and over time, the methane causes the soil to swell, creating bumps on the soil surface. The bulge gradually increases until it breaks. The released methane then combines with oxygen and explodes, eventually revealing a huge crater in the form of a crater.

During the earlier molten crater formation, locals had reported hearing a loud bang and then seeing a ball of fire and black smoke rising into the air. During the blast, chunks of dirt and ice were blown apart and flew far away.

extremely dangerous methane

Methane is known to be 20 times more serious than carbon dioxide for global warming. The explosion of methane craters is a major source of methane that causes global warming. As the climate warms, more and more molten craters will form, and methane emissions will continue to increase.

Scientists have warned that global warming is causing permafrost to thaw, releasing huge amounts of methane gas that pollutes the planet. And a lot of methane makes global warming worse, which is a vicious circle!

And, after a few years, most of the methane is oxidized, and carbon dioxide is the main product of this chemical process, which remains in the atmosphere and affects global temperatures for centuries. The amount of methane in the atmosphere is 150% higher than it was during the Industrial Revolution. The release of carbon dioxide and methane from thawed permafrost soil is like a ticking time bomb, threatening us at any moment, researchers say.

It is estimated that the average temperature of permafrost at a depth of 20 meters has risen by two degrees over the past 20 years. The largest molten craters were also found to form during extremely warm summers, when the average temperature was 5 degrees warmer than normal.

In a publication in the journal Nature, scientists found that temperatures rose sharply during the last global warming, also because of the massive thawing of permafrost, which suddenly released huge amounts of methane and carbon dioxide. It can be seen that history will repeat itself, and disasters are inevitable.

According to reliable predictions, if the methane under the permafrost of Siberia is fully released due to the vicious circle of global warming, it can blow up the entire earth! Where will humanity go from here?