The “Gate of Hell” in Siberia is growing at a frightening pace environment

This was revealed by an international cooperation between German and Russian scientists The mysterious Patajika Craterin Siberia, popularly known as “”Hell's door“, and is expanding at an alarming rate of up to one million cubic meters per year due to… Melting Permafrost.

It is located in the remote Sakha Republic in eastern Russia A natural phenomenon with a kilometer length It was discovered in 1991 using satellite images, following a cliff collapse in the Yana Highlands, northern Yakutia.

❄️🧊🏔️The phenomenon of removing the ice cover – A A layer of ice, rock and sediment – Which remained frozen for 650 thousand years. It is the oldest permafrost in Siberia and the second oldest in the world, according to the scientific portal “Live Science”.

Impact of climate change

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) states that this sewers They generally occur when underground rocks, composed of limestone, carbonates and other soluble salts, dissolve in water.

This hole, or in the technical term, a Heat depressionThis is a clear sign of influence weather changesHigh temperatures melt the “ice cement” that keeps the Earth solid, weakening its structure.

As the more frozen ground expels heat, the size of the hole increases significantly.

Researchers from Lomosonov Moscow State University and the Melnikov Institute of Permafrost, in collaboration with German scientists, used a 3D geological model and determined that The hill wall is receding by about 12 meters per yearWhile the collapsed part, which is currently 55 meters below the rim, is also melting quickly.

According to the study published in the scientific journal Geomorphology, the crater has expanded by 200 meters since 2014, reaching a width of 990 metres. Although scientists already knew that the opening was expanding, this was the first time the extent of the ice melting could be determined.

Reasons for concern

Although Batagayka is far from any major Russian city, its rapid expansion is a decisive indicator of the warming of permafrost, according to the “Interesting Architecture” portal.

Permafrost, which is soil permanently frozen for more than two years, covers large areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The melting of these layers not only creates gaps, but also reduces the vegetation that protects from the sun's heat, accelerating the rise in soil temperature.

When the ice melts, organic matter trapped in the permafrost decomposes, Release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming. The melting of the Patagaika ice releases approx 5 thousand tons of carbon annually. From the 1970s until 2023, it is estimated that this crater is the only one that has exploded 169.5 thousand tons of organic carbonResearchers say.

Even more worrying is the fact that the crater could escape into the atmosphere Ancient dangerous microbes, which we are not ready for. This discovery reinforces the urgent need to understand and mitigate the impacts of climate change on our fragile global ecosystem.