Less than a year after three massive craters as large as 250 feet wide were discovered in Siberia, experts say as many as 20 smaller craters may be dotting the north Russian landscape.
Satellite imagery shows that one of the large craters on the Yamal peninsula is actually now surrounded by about 20 smaller craters filled with water, according to the Siberian Times. The mysterious holes are thought to be related to climate change, as unusually warm temperatures in the area lead to explosive releases of a large amount of gas hydrates.
The discovery around the Yamal peninsula crater could indicate that there are more holes around the other large craters as well. “I would compare this with mushrooms,” Russian scientist Vasily Bogoyavlensky told the newspaper. “When you find one mushroom, be sure there are few more around. I suppose there could be 20 to 30 craters more.”
Open Wide: These Sinkholes Swallowed Vehicles Whole
Emergency officials approach cars on the edge of a sinkhole in Baltimore, April 30, 2014.APOne of eight Chevrolet Corvettes is removed from a sinkhole in the Skydome at the National Corvette Museum, Monday, March. 3, 2014, in Bowling Green, Ky. On Feb. 12 2014, a large sinkhole swallowed eight prized cars, piling them in a heap amid loose dirt and concrete fragments.Alex Slitz—APA construction vehicle lies where it was swallowed by a sinkhole on Saint-Catherine Street in downtown Montreal, August 5, 2013.Christinne Muschi—ReutersA utility worker looks underground to examine the scene where a sinkhole began on December 3, 2010 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. No one was reported injured in the accident. Logan Mock-Bunting—Getty ImagesWorkmen view a car with its front end in a sinkhole, July 30, 2013, in Philadelphia. PVI-TV reported the sinkhole opened up overnight on a street in the city's Hunting Park section, with the front of the car falling in the hole. Matt Rourke—APA sinkhole covers a street intersection in downtown Guatemala City, May 31, 2010. A day earlier authorities blamed the heavy rains caused by tropical storm Agatha as the cause of the crater that swallowed a a three-story building but now say they will be conducting further studies to determine the cause. Luis Echeverria—APA Los Angeles fireman looks under a fire truck stuck in a sinkhole in the Valley Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, Sept. 8, 2009. Four firefighters escaped injury early Tuesday after their fire engine sunk into a large hole caused by a burst water main in the San Fernando Valley, authorities said.Nick Ut—APAn Aerial view looking down on a sinkhole as traffic passes in Frederick, Maryland on April 24, 2008.Linda Davidson—The Washington Post/Getty ImagesRescue workers remove a bus with a crane from a Lisbon street sink hole Nov. 25, 2003. The bus was parked on a Lisbon street when the ground began to open. No casualties were reported.Jose Manuel Ribeiro—Reuters/Corbis
