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posted by janrinok on Saturday February 28 2015, @11:59PM   Printer-friendly
from the the-earth-has-a-gas-problem dept.

Remember that story about the Siberian mystery crater last June? Turns out there are six more and, as Siberian Times reports, there could be dozens of others which popped out recently enough to allow satellite comparisons between before and after.

Respected Moscow scientist Professor Vasily Bogoyavlensky has called for 'urgent' investigation of the new phenomenon amid safety fears.

Until now, only three large craters were known about in northern Russia with several scientific sources speculating last year that heating from above the surface due to unusually warm climatic conditions, and from below, due to geological fault lines, led to a huge release of gas hydrates, so causing the formation of these craters in Arctic regions.

Two of the newly-discovered large craters - also known as funnels to scientists - have turned into lakes, revealed Professor Bogoyavlensky, deputy director of the Moscow-based Oil and Gas Research Institute, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Examination using satellite images has helped Russian experts understand that the craters are more widespread than was first realised, with one large hole surrounded by as many as 20 mini-craters, The Siberian Times can reveal.

-- more after the break ---

Professor Bogoyavlensky told The Siberian Times: 'One of the most interesting objects here is the crater that we mark as B2, located 10 kilometres to the south of Bovanenkovo. On the satellite image you can see that it is one big lake surrounded by more than 20 small craters filled with water.

'Studying the satellite images we found out that initially there were no craters nor a lake. Some craters appeared, then more. Then, I suppose that the craters filled with water and turned to several lakes, then merged into one large lake, 50 by 100 metres in diameter.

[...]

Not only the new craters constantly forming on Yamal show that the process of gas emission is ongoing actively.

Professor Bogoyavlensky shows the picture of one of the Yamal lakes, taken by him from the helicopter and points on the whitish haze on its surface.

He commented: 'This haze that you see on the surface shows that gas seeps that go from the bottom of the lake to the surface. We call this process 'degassing'.

To appease your apocalyptic taste over the weekend, have a refresher in: clathrate gun hypothesis, limnic eruption (with Lake Nyos disaster and the management of Lake Kivu), other gas discharges like mazuku (CO2 discharge - with the Mammoth Mountain one which kills lots of trees by CO2 suffocation and killed three members of the ski patrol in 2006)

 
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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @01:10AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @01:10AM (#151343)

    Siberia is actually one of the windiest places on Earth. Windmills would work better there than almost anywhere else.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Funny=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Funny' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   1  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @01:13AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @01:13AM (#151345)

    Whoooosh

  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @02:08AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @02:08AM (#151364)

    I wish the mod who keeps marking everything "funny" would submit a comment letting us in on the joke.

    I don't think this is funny at all, and it's probably a dick mod from some Fox News fan.

    - different AC

    • (Score: 1) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @02:30AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @02:30AM (#151376)

      I'd be fine seeing the moderation system completely removed. The downmods are always incorrect, as are most upmods. I can't believe how many times I've seen utter crap at +5.

      - Yet Another AC

      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by black6host on Sunday March 01 2015, @04:07AM

        by black6host (3827) on Sunday March 01 2015, @04:07AM (#151405) Journal

        Well, sign it and help fix it.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @04:15AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @04:15AM (#151409)

          Sorry, sign IN (or create an account)....

    • (Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @02:37AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 01 2015, @02:37AM (#151379)

      The "Windmills only work in Holland" guy was making a reference to the practice of windmilling [urbandictionary.com]. It's basically when a man moves his pelvis so as to make his penis spin like a windmill's blades. It's a rather common practice in the Netherlands and Belgium, especially in clubs. Some of the clubs, both straight and gay, will have "Windmill Hour", where anyone windmilling for a minute or more will get a free drink. The humor comes in because the practice of windmilling, often being seen as homosexual, would likely be strictly forbidden in a place like Siberia, which is in Russia, where homosexuality is not considered socially acceptable.

    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by c0lo on Sunday March 01 2015, @03:14AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Sunday March 01 2015, @03:14AM (#151391) Journal

      I wish the mod who keeps marking everything "funny" would submit a comment letting us in on the joke.
      I don't think this is funny at all, and it's probably a dick mod from some Fox News fan.

      Those humour impaired righteous persons have wishes and everybody should bow to them or else be called names and exposed to public opprobrium.
      As a clue, you will detect them among the persons lacking the word "please" in their vocabulary - becuase it is absolutely right to ask whatever-they-are-asking and the answer should never be interpreted as a personal favour.

      Loosen up, mate, life is full of other shit you won't ever understand: why would one more matter?
      Look, for example, Fox News fans are usually republicunts, not dicks (no disrespect for any republicans on this list, I only put down my perception)
      Why? Nobody seems to know, I reckon this shall remain a mystery forever
      Yet... life goes on, regardless of what you (or, for the matter, me) think is proper humour. (... large grin...)

      Please let SN reflect the diversity of this life, in which even Ethanol Fuelled has a place and, surely, other traits worth of respect (even if no SN dweller may know them)

      (yes, AC, it is from me you got a Troll mod. As you wished, I have provided an explanation... this time)

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford