A massive megaslump in Siberia could be pivotal for future scientific research.
Called the ‘Gateway to Hell’, the Batagay megaslump is the largest permafrost crater globally and continues to expand annually.
The crater originated in the 1960s when its permafrost began thawing, but it wasn’t until 1991 that researchers discovered the remote pit using satellite imagery.
As for the cause of the permafrost thaw, climate change is the primary factor.
Roger Michaelides, a geophysicist at Washington University in St. Louis, explained to Business Insider that permafrost like Batagay’s is ‘frozen dirt underground, which by definition you often can’t see unless it’s been exposed somehow’.
Thousands of slumps exist across the Arctic, but Batagay’s immense size has labeled it a ‘megaslump’.
Research indicates that the slump expands by a staggering one million cubic meters annually. As of last year, the ‘Gateway to Hell’ was 3,250 feet (990m) wide.
The global thawing trend releases gases like carbon dioxide and methane, typically a bad sign. However, scientists are optimistic that the Batagay megaslump could offer valuable insights into such craters.
Michaelides stated: “I think there is a lot we can learn from Batagaika, not only in terms of understanding how Batagaika will evolve with time, but also how similar features might develop and evolve over the Arctic.
“Even if they’re a tenth or a hundredth the size of Batagaika, the physics is fundamentally the same.”
Professor Julian Murton, a geologist at the University of Sussex, has previously noted that the megaslump will ‘provide a view to what has happened in the past and what is likely to happen in the future’.
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Nevertheless, Batagay will continue to release around 4,000 to 5,000 tons of carbon each year.
Projections suggest that by 2100, without significant climate change mitigation, the crater could emit ‘as much planet-warming gases as a large industrial nation’.
Additionally, the thawing permafrost could destabilize the surrounding ground, posing a significant threat to regions of Russia, where 65 percent of the land consists of permafrost.