Siberian Batagaika crater deepens and reveals secrets of history

This huge hole in the ground is located over 650 kilometersóin the pónortheastód from Yakutsk. Such a crateróin Siberia is more. Their presence is linked to climate change and rising temperatures, but the Batagaika crater is unique.

Batagaika crater

Batagaika crater was formed after massive logging of forestsóin the 1960s. The earth, or rather, the permafrost (perennial), deprived of the sun’s protective canopy umbrella, began to thaw and collapse. Experts call it a thermocrash. This is how the crater was formed, whichóry is called by the locals "A gateway to the underground world".

Currently, the Batagaika crater is more than a kilometer long and nearly a hundred meters longóin the depth. But the process of collapse is going on all the time, and has even accelerated recently. This is linked to a warming climate. For the past several years, each consecutive year has been warmer than the previous one. Batagaika has collapsed to 15 metersóin a year, but recently even the area around 30 meters ofów.

A unique record of climate history

For scientistsów is a real time machine. The collapse represents a cross-section of theój history of climate change over the last 200,000 years. Permafrost has recently uncovered the remains of, mammoth, horse or muskoxen. But most interesting for researchers are the remnants of r visible in the layersóThe depth of methane deposits in the layers is clear as day in the climatic history of Siberia.

Pollen and plant remains from 200,000 years ago have been found in the crater. Even a piece of ancient forest. In the layers as on the palm of your hand you can see the climatic history of Siberia. There are layers indicating dense forests as well as grassy tundra. Changes in flora over thousands of years, visible in the soil layers, will help scientists more accurately understand how the climate works.

In dwóch exposed layers have been found to contain large deposits of wood. One of them is dated to the period just after the last glaciation, about 10,000 years ago. WóAt the time, Siberia was not such an inhospitable place as it is today.

Methane deposits

– Batagaika crater contains two layers rich in wood. We interpret them as remnants of lush forests, whichóre indicate that in the past Siberia was warmer than today – said study leader Julian Muton of the University of Sussex.

Scientists, based on the analysis of the layers, want to determine what happened to the Siberian climate after the last permafrost melt about 10,000 years ago. It will be possible to relate this to the currently ongoing melting of permafrost. It will be possible to róalso be tempted to make a forecast for the coming years.

The melting of permafrost is no small concern for climatologistsów. It releases deposits of methane that have accumulated over the years, whichóry is one of the most potent gasesóin the greenhouse, making an already bad situation worse. It is estimated that gas depositsóin the greenhouse trapped in the permafrost are równe those whoóre currently found in the atmosphere.