This giant, ever-deepening and widening crater is a warning of the dangerous consequences of climate change.
“Gateway to Hell”
The 8,712,000 square meter wide and 91 m deep crater, also known as the “Batagaika Crater”, is located in the Janos-Oimiakon Mountains in Siberia.
Batagaika Crater is the second oldest permafrost site on Earth.
It formed as a tiny fissure when the then-ground was completely frozen during the Quaternary glaciation period, about 2.58 million years ago. years, Wion News writes.
In the then declassified 20th century It was barely visible in satellite images from the 1960s.
It should be noted that the expansion of the Batagaika crater is associated with climate change in the area, resulting in warmer summers and shorter winters. Such conditions are unfavorable for permafrost, which continues to melt.
When people first spotted Batagaika Crater in Yakutia, Russia, they reported hearing eerie noises coming from it, such as loud rumblings or “screams.”
Later, according to Wion News, in the 20th century The forest that was cleared in the 1960s allowed the Sun’s rays to enter the crater and begin heating the ground below.
Visible from space
Batagaika crater has been observed to be expanding faster than expected. It has grown so much that it is visible from space.
“The volume of a megacollapse increases by about one million cubic meters per year,” glaciologist Aleksandar Kiziakoc wrote in the study.
This is due to climate change. Specialists are currently working on the mega collapse – gathering as much information as possible.
Roger Michaelides, a geophysicist at the University of Washington (USA), sees the crater as a unique opportunity to study permafrost, which is often under the Earth’s surface, writes Business Insider.
“I think we can learn a lot from the Batagaika crater, not only to understand how it will evolve over time, but also how similar places might evolve in the Arctic,” says R. Michaelides. “Even if they’re a tenth or a hundredth the size of Batagaika, the physics is basically the same.”
Future threats
Due to the rapid melting of the permafrost, problems will also arise along the Batagajau river. Scientists have warned that all this will increase the erosion of the river banks and affect the surrounding ecosystem.
The rapid expansion of the crater also increases the potential for increased greenhouse gas emissions. This is because dissolved organic carbon enters the atmosphere, according to NewsX.
They estimate that between 4,000 and 5,000 tons of organic carbon previously trapped in permafrost is released annually. However, this number is likely to increase, according to NDTV.
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2024-09-08 20:52:58