The Siberian Mystery Craters Are Back! New Theories Tac Onto Old

This freed gas may be rushing to the weakest points in a thin ceiling of surface permafrost. There, it is building in pressure, with groundwater and potential pingo formation pushing from below.

Trapped between ice and a cold place, the gas eventually pushes out with incredible force, sending earth flying even as rushing water sends the pingo plowing through the gas breach. And while this alone is not particularly deadly, as it's unlikely to ignite, officials in the area are still concerned about the nearby Yamal gas fields.

"Years of experience has shown that gas emissions can cause serious damage to drilling rigs, oil and gas fields and offshore pipelines," Bogoyavlensky said. "It is important not to scare people, but to understand that it is a very serious problem and we must research this."

Vladimir Romanovsky, a geophysicist who studies permafrost at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, added in an interview with New Scientist that we're just noticing these craters now because it's becoming more common - numbers noticeable even in the Sleeping Lands. Some have theorized there may be 10 times as many craters out there than have been found.

"If the warming continues," he said, "we will see more and more of this phenomenon."

The geologist added that we could even potentially see it occur in other Arctic regions of the world, like parts of Alaska and Canada.

Still, not everyone is convinced. Carolyn Ruppel, chief of the US Geological Survey's Gas Hydrates Project, recently told National Geographic that the gas pockets in question are normally a whopping 740 feet or more underground. That's about three times the depth of the deepest crater seen so far. If the AGRI theory is correct, then experts would still be stuck wondering what could be prompting melting that deep.

That then just adds mystery to the mystery that's occurring in the "End of the World."

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