00:04this is a massive crater in the siberian permafrost in russia it's just one of several similar holes
00:10that mysteriously began appearing about a decade ago and since then they have baffled scientists
00:15as to their cause now researchers from the uk and spain believe they may now know what's going on
00:21these craters through ice and earth are quite large some measuring around 100 feet wide and
00:26over 160 feet deep around the holes rest debris that was seemingly ejected from them what's more
00:32experts say that when they opened up they released massive amounts of methane gas this all points to
00:37what they call a very niche geological process that starts with warm temperatures melting permafrost
00:42and causing the gas within to expand and much like a bike tire exploding after being overinflated once
00:48water from the surface trickles deeper and deeper into the earth due to climate change it reaches a
00:53salty layer called cryo peg which doesn't freeze due to its salinity which then mixes with that
00:58water and pumps it into the layer below that layer just so happens to be composed of crystallized
01:03hydrogen bonded water and methane which then ruptures and releases the gas forcing it upwards experts say
01:09this usually happens over thousands of years but global warming is speeding up the process causing it
01:14to occur in only decades
