A mysterious crater, measuring 60 meters wide, has been found on the northern Siberian Yamal peninsula; some scientists blame temperatures for the odd discovery, while other scientists blame Russian natural gas.
According to The Associated Press , Andrei Plekhanov, senior researcher with the Scientific Research Center of the Artic, claimed that the crater was caused by increasingly warmer temperatures in the area; the warmer temperatures caused gas pressure to collect underground until there was so much pressure that an explosion occurred.
A few other researchers, on the other hand, believe that the crater wasn’t caused by the climate, but rather by the nearby Russian Bovanenkovo gas area; the area contains a great amount of natural gas and may even have more natural gas than anywhere else in the world.
Scientists plan on testing soil, water, and air surrounding the crater in attempt to figure out the exact scientific explanation for the phenomenon. In the meantime, Yamal emergency officials have announced that they have ruled out the option of the crater being a possible meteorite, The Washington Post noted.