Giant crater Siberia has recently been discovered in an area in Siberia dubbed by locals as 'the end of the world.' The mysterious giant crater Siberia now has scientists baffled about its origins, reports the Siberian Times.
According to the Telegraph, because of the giant crater Siberia, Russian scientists are prompted to look for answers as to how it was formed. RT said that an urgent expedition has been sent to the far-northern peninsula in order to try and solve the mystery.
Helicopter pilots reportedly first discovered the giant crater Siberia. Having found the mysterious hole, the pilots decided to share their discovery to the world and hence posted the video footage of the giant crater Siberia on Youtube.
According to USA Today, the video of the 260-foot-wide hole apparently caused quite a stir in the region that the team of Russian scientists was immediately sent to the exact spot where the giant crater Siberia is so they could investigate.
Reports say the team arrived Wednesday to debunk wild theories about where the crater came from and conclude for sure its origin.
The giant crater Siberia is located exactly in one of Russia's northernmost points, at latitudes closer to that of Greenland than Canada, reports RT.
According to scarce detail gleaned from video footage, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that the giant crater Siberia, which was about 50 to 80 meters wide, apparently had some extreme thermal event contributing to its formation.
When the helicopter footage of the giant crater Siberia became viral, it was only until then that the massive hole made its rounds on media, and the scientific community thought of the possibility of finding out its origins.
No one knows how, but the giant crater Siberia was believed to have formed two years ago.
While many thought the video to be a pure hoax, according to the Telegraph, the origin of the giant crater Siberia may be due to reasons likely much more ordinary. Reports say that mounds often form beneath the tundra in summer since pressure from meltwater in thawing solid build up beneath the surface.
The expedition to find out the source of the giant crater Siberia was made more serious because of the inclusion of Russia's Emergencies Ministry in the expedition. Reports say the Russian Academy of Sciences is also in the mission as they plan to take samples of soil, air and water from the area.
The giant crater Siberia in the Yamal peninsula is far up in the northern-Russian steppes, its precise location reportedly some 30km from the gas field of Bovanenkovo. According to RT, The ENTIRE area is located amongst Russia's key strategic oil and gas region - the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
According to a government spokesman in the Yamal peninsula, the crater is likely not the result of a meteor strike. The spokesman for the Yamal branch of the Emergencies Ministry said,'We can definitely say that it's not a meteorite. No details yet.'
Meanwhile, a geologic theory from RT posits that it is a possibility that warming temperatures caused permafrost to melt and release natural gas in what one researcher likens to a champagne-cork effect.
While many absurd theories have been dismissed about the origins of the giant crater Siberia, it is known that everybody agrees that the soil found around the crater was thrown out of it.
Giant crater Siberia origins will remain a mystery until researchers come back with more answers.
Below is the footage taken by helicopter pilots.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
