New unexplained holes have appeared in Siberia following the mystery over a giant crater on the Yamal Peninsula.
A second is in the same permafrost region of northern Russia, and a third on the Taymyr Peninsula, to the east, in Kransoyark region. Both were spotted by reindeer herders who almost fell in.
The original hole received worldwide attention after being identified by helicopter pilots some 20 miles (32km) from a huge gas extraction plant at Bovanenkov.
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
The new Yamal crater (pictured) is in the area's Taz district near the village of Antipayuta and has a diameter of about 49ft (15 metres). According to local residents, the hole formed on 27 September 2013
Now the new holes - smaller in diameter but similar in shape - are posing a fresh challenge for Russian scientists.
'Theories range from meteorites, stray missiles, a man-made prank, and aliens, to an explosive cocktail of methane or shale gas suddenly exploding,' reported The Siberian Times.
'The version about melting permafrost due to climate change, causing a release of methane gas, which then forces an eruption is the current favourite, though scientists are reluctant to offer a firm conclusion without more study.'
The new Yamal crater is in the area's Taz district near the village of Antipayuta and has a diameter of about 49ft (15 metres).
WATCH THE VIDEO:
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
The third crater is in the Taymyr Peninsula and was accidentally discovered by reindeer herders who almost fell into it, in the vicinity of the remote outpost of Nosok. The funnel is a perfectly formed cone, say locals who are mystified over its formation. Its depth is estimated at between 200 to 330ft (60 to 100 metres) and its diameter - more than 13ft (four metres)
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
Footage from inside the original crater showed that there is a lake at its base. The two new craters follow the discovery of a larger hole earlier this month around 230ft (70 metres) in diameter. Now the new holes - smaller in diameter but similar in shape - are posing a fresh challenge for Russian scientists
A deputy of the regional parliament - or duma - Mikhail Lapsui said: 'I flew by helicopter to inspect this funnel' which he said was formed last year though only now have reports of it reached the outside world.
'There is ground outside, as if it was thrown as a result of an underground explosion.
'According to local residents, the hole formed on 27 September 2013.
'Observers give several versions. According to the first, initially at the place was smoking, and then there was a bright flash. In the second version, a celestial body fell there.'
The chief scientist of the Earth Cryosphere Institute, Marina Leibman, told URA.RU website in Sibera: 'I have heard about the second funnel on Yamal, in Taz district, and saw the pictures.
'Undoubtedly, we need to study all such formations. It is necessary to be able to predict their occurrence.
'Each new funnel provides additional information for scientists.'
The third crater and hole is in the Taymyr Peninsula and was accidentally discovered by reindeer herders who almost fell into it, in the vicinity of the remote outpost of Nosok.
The funnel is a perfectly formed cone, say locals who are mystified over its formation.
Its depth is estimated at between 200 to 330ft (60 to 100 metres) and its diameter - more than 13ft (four metres).
Experts - geologists, ecologists, and historians - have not come to a consensus about the origin of the funnel, say reports in the region.
'It is not like this is the work of men, but also doesn't look like natural formation,' said one account expressing puzzlement at its creation.
Scientists in Krasnoyarsk region - the second largest in Russia - plan further study of this hole.
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
This first giant crater measuring around 262ft and found in far northern Siberia is believed to have been caused by rising temperatures in the area
![]()
The discovery eliminates the possibility that a meteorite had struck the region in the Yamal Peninsula - the name of which translates as 'the end of the world'
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
One theory is that the feature is a ‘pingo,’ reports the Sunday Morning Herald.
A pingo is a large chunk of ice that is located underground that can create a hole in the ground when it melts.
‘Certainly from the images I’ve seen it looks like a periglacial feature, perhaps a collapsed pingo,’ Dr Chris Fogwill of the University of New South Wales said.
‘This is obviously a very extreme version of that, and if there’s been any interaction with the gas in the area, that is a question that could only be answered by going there.’
Dr Plekhanov added the hole was most likely the result of a 'build-up of excessive pressure' underground, due to the region's changing temperatures.
He said 80 per cent of the crater appeared to be made up of ice and that there were no traces of an explosion.
The discovery eliminates the possibility that a meteorite had struck the region.
'Could it be linked to the global warming? Well, we have to continue our
research to answer this question,' said Dr Plekhanov.
'Two previous summers - years 2012 and 2013 were relatively hot for Yamal, perhaps this has somehow influenced the formation of the crater.
'But we have to do our tests and research first and then say it more definitively.'
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
After the hole was discovered, there was speculation online about the crater indicating 'the arrival of a UFO craft'.
Ruling out extra-terrestrial intervention, Dr Plekhanov said: 'We can say for sure that under the influence of internal processes there was an ejection in the permafrost.
'I want to stress that was not an explosion, but an ejection, so there was no heat released as it happened.'
The latest expedition organised by the Yamal authorities included experts from Russia's Centre for the Study of the Arctic, and also the Cryosphere Institute of the Academy of Sciences.
They took samples of soil, air and water from the scene and were accompanied by a specialist from Russia's Emergencies Ministry.
Anna Kurchatova from the Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Centre, previously said the crater was formed by a mixture of water, salt and gas igniting an underground explosion, a result of global warming.
Gas accumulated in ice could have mixed with sand beneath the surface, and then mixed with salt.
Global warming may have caused an 'alarming' melt in the under-soil ice, released gas and causing an effect like the popping of a Champagne bottle cork, Ms Kurchatova suggests.
Yamal, a large peninsula jutting into Arctic waters, is Russia's main production area for gas supplied to Europe.
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
Dr Plekhanov said: 'I've never seen anything like this, even though I have been to Yamal many times.'
The crater is different from others on Yamal. The experts say the phenomenon maybe a restarting of a process not seen for 8,000 years when the lake-pocked Yamal landscape was formed on what was once a sea.
This maybe 'repeating nowadays', he said. 'If this theory is confirmed, we can say that we have witnessed a unique natural process that formed the unusual landscape of Yamal peninsula.'
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
![Now Two NEW Mystery Craters Have Appeared in Siberia]()
SOURCE
A second is in the same permafrost region of northern Russia, and a third on the Taymyr Peninsula, to the east, in Kransoyark region. Both were spotted by reindeer herders who almost fell in.
The original hole received worldwide attention after being identified by helicopter pilots some 20 miles (32km) from a huge gas extraction plant at Bovanenkov.
Now the new holes - smaller in diameter but similar in shape - are posing a fresh challenge for Russian scientists.
'Theories range from meteorites, stray missiles, a man-made prank, and aliens, to an explosive cocktail of methane or shale gas suddenly exploding,' reported The Siberian Times.
'The version about melting permafrost due to climate change, causing a release of methane gas, which then forces an eruption is the current favourite, though scientists are reluctant to offer a firm conclusion without more study.'
The new Yamal crater is in the area's Taz district near the village of Antipayuta and has a diameter of about 49ft (15 metres).
WATCH THE VIDEO:
A deputy of the regional parliament - or duma - Mikhail Lapsui said: 'I flew by helicopter to inspect this funnel' which he said was formed last year though only now have reports of it reached the outside world.
'There is ground outside, as if it was thrown as a result of an underground explosion.
'According to local residents, the hole formed on 27 September 2013.
'Observers give several versions. According to the first, initially at the place was smoking, and then there was a bright flash. In the second version, a celestial body fell there.'
The chief scientist of the Earth Cryosphere Institute, Marina Leibman, told URA.RU website in Sibera: 'I have heard about the second funnel on Yamal, in Taz district, and saw the pictures.
'Undoubtedly, we need to study all such formations. It is necessary to be able to predict their occurrence.
'Each new funnel provides additional information for scientists.'
The third crater and hole is in the Taymyr Peninsula and was accidentally discovered by reindeer herders who almost fell into it, in the vicinity of the remote outpost of Nosok.
The funnel is a perfectly formed cone, say locals who are mystified over its formation.
Its depth is estimated at between 200 to 330ft (60 to 100 metres) and its diameter - more than 13ft (four metres).
Experts - geologists, ecologists, and historians - have not come to a consensus about the origin of the funnel, say reports in the region.
'It is not like this is the work of men, but also doesn't look like natural formation,' said one account expressing puzzlement at its creation.
Scientists in Krasnoyarsk region - the second largest in Russia - plan further study of this hole.
One theory is that the feature is a ‘pingo,’ reports the Sunday Morning Herald.
A pingo is a large chunk of ice that is located underground that can create a hole in the ground when it melts.
‘Certainly from the images I’ve seen it looks like a periglacial feature, perhaps a collapsed pingo,’ Dr Chris Fogwill of the University of New South Wales said.
‘This is obviously a very extreme version of that, and if there’s been any interaction with the gas in the area, that is a question that could only be answered by going there.’
Dr Plekhanov added the hole was most likely the result of a 'build-up of excessive pressure' underground, due to the region's changing temperatures.
He said 80 per cent of the crater appeared to be made up of ice and that there were no traces of an explosion.
The discovery eliminates the possibility that a meteorite had struck the region.
'Could it be linked to the global warming? Well, we have to continue our
research to answer this question,' said Dr Plekhanov.
'Two previous summers - years 2012 and 2013 were relatively hot for Yamal, perhaps this has somehow influenced the formation of the crater.
'But we have to do our tests and research first and then say it more definitively.'
After the hole was discovered, there was speculation online about the crater indicating 'the arrival of a UFO craft'.
Ruling out extra-terrestrial intervention, Dr Plekhanov said: 'We can say for sure that under the influence of internal processes there was an ejection in the permafrost.
'I want to stress that was not an explosion, but an ejection, so there was no heat released as it happened.'
The latest expedition organised by the Yamal authorities included experts from Russia's Centre for the Study of the Arctic, and also the Cryosphere Institute of the Academy of Sciences.
They took samples of soil, air and water from the scene and were accompanied by a specialist from Russia's Emergencies Ministry.
Anna Kurchatova from the Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Centre, previously said the crater was formed by a mixture of water, salt and gas igniting an underground explosion, a result of global warming.
Gas accumulated in ice could have mixed with sand beneath the surface, and then mixed with salt.
Global warming may have caused an 'alarming' melt in the under-soil ice, released gas and causing an effect like the popping of a Champagne bottle cork, Ms Kurchatova suggests.
Yamal, a large peninsula jutting into Arctic waters, is Russia's main production area for gas supplied to Europe.
Dr Plekhanov said: 'I've never seen anything like this, even though I have been to Yamal many times.'
The crater is different from others on Yamal. The experts say the phenomenon maybe a restarting of a process not seen for 8,000 years when the lake-pocked Yamal landscape was formed on what was once a sea.
This maybe 'repeating nowadays', he said. 'If this theory is confirmed, we can say that we have witnessed a unique natural process that formed the unusual landscape of Yamal peninsula.'
SOURCE