thisisfusion: Mother Nature Gallery Unveils Third Hole in…
Mother Nature Gallery Unveils Third Hole in Siberian Giant Hole Collection, “End Times: Work In Progress”
Sotheby President apologizes: “We can’t assess the value of holes, even if they are cool and scary”
Three massive sinkholes opened up in Siberia this month. On July 15, The Siberian Times reported that reindeer herders discovered a 260-foot-wide hole appeared in the Yamal region, which translates to “the end of the world.” So, there’s that.
Then, early this week, reindeer herders discovered two additional, scary chasms: one with a 50-foot opening in the Taz district and another 200 to 330-foot hole in the Taymyr Peninsula. Video:
Experts do not know, exactly, what these massive holes are or how they happened.
They look like craters, but aren’t. Geophysicist Vladimir Romanovsky told Live Science he suspects the holes formed when an underwater pool of permafrost started to melt. Usually sinkholes form when a buildup of underground water erodes bedrock, causing the topsoil to cave in. In this case, however, Romanovsky suspects there may have been a different interaction. “This one actually erupted outside,” he said, calmly. The theory is that a buildup of underground methane gas caused the explosion. Yamal is home to the world’s largest natural gas reserve, so it’s possible.
Do I need to worry about sinkholes? Probably not any more than you were worrying about them before, which could be a lot or a little depending on your relationship to the National Corvette Museum, which is now a sinkhole museum. Which may have been kind of a mixed blessing for them.
By: Danielle Wiener-Bronner
