Posted on 6 September 2020 by John Hartz

Story of the Week...

Massive mystery holes appear in Siberian tundra — and could be linked to climate change

In August 2020, the RAS Institute of Oil and Gas Problems, supported by the local Yamal authorities, conducted a major expedition to the new crater. Skoltech researchers were part of the final stages of that expedition. Credit: Evgeny Chuvilin

A Russian TV crew flying over the Siberian tundra this summer spotted a massive crater 30 meters (100 feet) deep and 20 meters wide — striking in its size, symmetry and the explosive force of nature that it must have taken to have created it.

Scientists are not sure exactly how the huge hole, which is at least the ninth spotted in the region since 2013, formed. Initial theories floated when the first crater was discovered near an oil and gas field in the Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia included a meteorite impact, a UFO landing and the collapse of a secret underground military storage facility.

While scientists now believe the giant hole is linked to an explosive buildup of methane gas — which could be an unsettling result of warming temperatures in the region — there is still a lot the researchers don't know.

Click here to access the entire article originally posted on the CNN website. 

Massive mystery holes appear in Siberian tundra — and could be linked to climate change by Katie Hunt, CNN, Sep 4, 2020

Toon of the Week...

Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page.

Photo of the Week...

An aerial view of the newest crater that appeared this year. It's one of the largest that has appeared so far. In August 2020, the RAS Institute of Oil and Gas Problems, supported by the local Yamal authorities, conducted a major expedition to the new crater. Skoltech researchers were part of the final stages of that expedition. Credit: Evgeny Chuvilin

Massive mystery holes appear in Siberian tundra — and could be linked to climate change by Katie Hunt, CNN, Sep 4, 2020

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• Five science questions to be asked at the debates (Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Ben Santer, and Richard Richels)
• A first-hand look: What it's like to live in a 2020 California wildfire evacuation zone (Daisy Simmons)
• SkS New Research for Week #36 (Doug Bostrom)
• Participating in Al Gore's Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training (Baerbel)
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• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37 (John Hartz)
• 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #37 (John Hartz) 

Poster of the Week...

SkS Week in Review... 

• Sun: 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #35 by John Hartz (SkS Original)
• Mon: Climate TRACE to track real-time global carbon emissions by Bruce Lieberman (Yale Climate Connections)
• Tue: Siberia’s 2020 heatwave made ‘600 times more likely’ by climate change by Daisy Dunne (Carbon Brief)
• Wed: Skeptical Science New Research for Week #35, 2020 by Doug Bostrom (SkS Original)
• Wed: The story of climate consensus by John Cook (YouTube Video)
• Sat: 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #36 by John Hartz (SkS Original)