A mysterious giant hole spotted in northern Siberia has sparked an urgent expedition.

Aerial images posted on YouTube indicate a hole up to 80m wide in Yamal, a peninsula jutting into Arctic waters whose name translates as "the end of the world".

The hole was discovered by a helicopter crew working for an oil company in the gas-rich region, The Siberian Times reports.

A scientific expedition organised by the Yamal authorities will leave tomorrow to investigate. The team includes experts from Russia's Centre for the Study of the Arctic, the Cryosphere Institute of the Academy of Sciences and Russia's Emergencies Ministry.

The cause of the hole's sudden appearance is not yet known.

Experts said that the darkening around the inner rim of the crater indicated "severe burning" that scorched its edges.

A spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry's Yamal branch has ruled out a meteorite strike and web speculation about the crater indicating "the arrival of a UFO craft" has likewise been dismissed.

An expert from the Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Centre said global warming could be the culprit, releasing gases under the surface that mixed with water and salt and then exploded like a champagne cork.