Graphic summary. Credit: Total environmental science (2025). DOI: 10.1016 / J. SCITOTENV.2025.180042
Scientists can be one more step to solve the mystery of the giant craters of Siberia. For the first time in the Yamal and Gydan Peninsulas of Western Siberia in 2012, these massive holes, known as giant craters in gas emission (GEC) can have a depth up to 164 feet deep. They seem to appear at random in permafrost and form when powerful explosions blow from the ground and ice to hundreds of feet in the air.
For more than a decade, researchers have been offering theories on the origin of these craters, ranging from meteor impacts to gas explosions. However, none of these elements has been able to explain why craters are only found in this specific area and not in permafrost elsewhere in the Arctic.
Now research published in the journal Total environmental science Offers a new and more complete explanation that connects craters to specific factors unique to the two peninsulas, the vast gas reserves in this region and the effects of climate change.
“We propose that GEC training is linked to the specific conditions of the region, including an abundance of production and infiltration of natural gas and the global thickness of continuous permafrost,” wrote the researchers in their article.
Helge Hellevang, an environmental geoscientist of the University of Oslo, and his colleagues studied previous research, examined geological data and used digital calculations to develop a conceptual model of what is happening.
A new craters training model
Depending on their model, GECs form when gas and heat rise from a deep basement. The heat melts the seal of permafrost (a layer of soil permanently frozen which acts like a lid), which makes it thinner. Meanwhile, the gas accumulates below, and with nowhere to go, the pressure increases. As the climate warms up, the Pergélison Déget even more, making the lid thinner. Finally, the pressure becomes too large and causes an explosive collapse that creates a large crater.
Dr. Hellevang and his colleagues say that their model is only a first step. The next step will be field work and computer simulations to test their model. The team also believes that there can be many more of these craters in Siberia hiding in sight. The reason is that they quickly fill with water and dirt, making them look like lakes that form ice ice. Thus, although GECs are a relatively recent discovery, they could have been a characteristic of the landscape for much longer.
Written for you by our author Paul Arnold, published by Gaby Clark, and verified and revised by Robert Egan – This article is the result of meticulous human work. We are counting on readers like you to keep independent scientific journalism alive. If this report matters to you, please consider a donation (especially monthly). You will get a without advertising count as a thank you.
More information:
Helge Hellevang et al, training of giant craters of Siberian gas emission (GEC), Total environmental science (2025). DOI: 10.1016 / J. SCITOTENV.2025.180042
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Quote: A new explanation for the giant explosive craters of Siberia (2025, September 17) recovered on September 18, 2025 from
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