New permafrost feature - deep crater in central Yamal (west Siberia, Russia) as a response to local climate fluctuations

Marina О. Leibman,

Alexander I. Kizyakov,

Andrei V. Plekhanov,

Irina D. Streletskaya

Published: Jan. 1, 2014

This paper is based on field data obtained during short visits to a newly formed permafrost feature in a form of relatively narrow, deep crater. Excluding impossible and improbable versions of the crater's development, the authors conclude that it originated from warmer ground temperatures and an increase in unfrozen water content, leading to an increase in pressure from gas emissions from permafrost and ground ice. This conclusion is also supported by known processes in the palaeo-geography of Yamal lakes and recent studies of gas-hydrate behavior and subsea processes in gas-bearing provinces.