Intrigued as to what was causing this peculiar natural phenomenon, a group of scientists from the respected Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, in Novosibirsk, Russia, set-out on an expedition to unearth their mysteries.

The scientists, including Dr Igor Yeltsov, deputy director of the institute, conducted a range of experiments at Yamal hole, in northern Siberia – one of the biggest and most famous newly-formed craters to be found in recent years.

Prior to these experiments, scientists had not previously had the opportunity to study the cause and effect of the craters – a unique natural occurrence – in such detail.

Upon the formation of the Yamal hole – which is up to 60 metres in depth – speculation was rife amongst the media and scientific community, sparking a flurry of theories ranging from UFOs, to stray missiles, to meteorites.

But what Dr Igor and his group of scientists found was a far more distressing explanation of the natural event.

Following their studies, they concluded that the formation of the giant holes were an alarming warning sign of a deadly threat to the northern regions of Siberia: irreversible climate change.

The scientists posited that the giant craters were formed by the melting of gas hydrates and the emission of methane, a potent greenhouse gas which, if released into the atmosphere, can cause catastrophic global temperature rises.

The methane accumulates in a pingo – a mound of underground ice – which then erupts, causing the strange holes that have appeared on Russia’s Arctic fringe, scientists claim.

The methane accumulates in a pingo – a mound of underground ice – which then erupts, causing the strange holes that have appeared on Russia’s Arctic fringe, scientists claim.

These eruptions, which scientists warn are a ‘dire threat’ to nearby towns and cities, are thought to be so volatile, the area is being monitored by Russian space satellites in an attempt to pre-empt their occurrence.

This vast eruption of methane is believed to be a similar process to the Bermuda Triangle phenomenon, which sees the disappearance of ships and aircraft in the Atlantic ocean.

Dr Yeltsov said: “In the last decades, temperatures have climbed and caused the release of gas hydrates. This resembles a nuclear reaction.

“Last year I compared it with the Bermuda Triangle, because, according to our theory, the cause of this is a mass yield of methane.

“The importance of the study increases if we take into account that six kilometres from the crater is a main gas pipeline, and 36 kilometres away is the Bovanenkovo gas deposit.

“We need follow closely the processes with permafrost and gas hydrates on Yamal.

“We underestimate the danger that methane brings to us.”

