7000 mysterious underground gas bubbles could explode at any moment in the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas

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Last year, researchers in Siberia’s remote Bely Island made the bizarre discovery that the ground had started bubbling in certain places.

At the time, just 15 of these swollen bubbles had been identified. A new investigation in the wider region of the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas has revealed that 7,000 or so of them have cropped up, and the concern now is that they could explode at any moment.

These bubbles – such as one seen in our video on Bely Island – have been called ‘trembling tundra’:

Scientists have discovered as many as 7,000 gas-filled ‘bubbles’ expected to explode in Actic regions of Siberia during field and satellite surveys.

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7,000 Huge Gas Bubbles Have Formed Under Siberia, and Could Explode at Any Moment. Via The Siberian Times

The bulging bumps in the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas are believed to be caused by thawing permafrost releasing methane.

underground gas bubbles yamal peninsula, 7,000 Huge Gas Bubbles Have Formed Under Siberia and Could Explode at Any Moment, methane bubbles yamal peninsula
Bulging bumps in the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas believed to be caused by thawing permafrost releasing methane. Pictures: Yamal Region Via The Siberian Times

The region has seen several recent examples of sudden ‘craters’ or funnels forming from pingos after what scientists believe are caused by eruptions from methane gas released by the thawing of permafrost which is triggered by climate change.

underground gas bubbles yamal peninsula, 7,000 Huge Gas Bubbles Have Formed Under Siberia and Could Explode at Any Moment, methane bubbles yamal peninsula
Here’s an image of one bubble found by Bogoyavlensky that has swelled immensely. via Science Alert

Scientists believe that thawing permafrost is a suspected reason for the cause of underground gas bubble formation.

underground gas bubbles yamal peninsula, 7,000 Huge Gas Bubbles Have Formed Under Siberia and Could Explode at Any Moment, methane bubbles yamal peninsula
While collapsed bubbles can form fairly small ‘pockmarks’ in the ground, they’ve also been linked to the massive sinkholes and craters that have been appearing across Siberia Via The Siberian Times

Analysis last year of the 15 Bely island underground gas pockets showed multiple excesses of greenhouse gas content compared with average levels in the atmosphere.

underground gas bubbles yamal peninsula, 7,000 Huge Gas Bubbles Have Formed Under Siberia and Could Explode at Any Moment, methane bubbles yamal peninsula
With time, the bubble explodes, releasing gas. This is how gigantic funnels form Via The Siberian Times

Recently there were accounts of a ‘big bang’ triggering the formation of a crater on the Taimyr Peninsula. However, there was no pingo on this spot before the eruption in 2013. The noise could be heard up to 100 km away and one resident saw a ‘glow in the sky’ after the explosion, it was revealed.

The question is now: Which bumps are dangerous and which are not. Scientists are working on detecting and structuring signs of potential threat, like the maximum height of a bump and pressure that the earth can withstand.

underground gas bubbles yamal peninsula, 7,000 Huge Gas Bubbles Have Formed Under Siberia and Could Explode at Any Moment, methane bubbles yamal peninsula
Giant crater formed after pingo explosion near Bovanenkovo gas deposit in 2014. Pictures: Vasily bogoyavlensky Via The Siberian Times

At first such a bump is a bubble. With time the bubble explodes, releasing gas. This is how these gigantic funnels may form.

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