Трудовой кодекс

The destruction of the glaciers of the Siberian tundra has passed into a new, very dangerous stage. Reported by Siberian Times.

Methane bombs in the permafrost of Siberia are exploding more and more often. Professor Vasily Bogoyavlensky of the Russian Research Institute of Oil and Gas in Moscow, based on the analysis of satellite images, identified about 7185 new methane bombs that are about to detonate.

A significant part of these methane bombs are dangerous to people and important infrastructure facilities in cities and industry.

The newest - number 17 on Russian scientists’ list - ‘crater’ appeared earlier this summer in an undisclosed location on the Yamal peninsula. They are believed to be caused by the build up of methane gas in pockets of thawing permafrost under the surface; these swollen pingo-like formations then erupt with gas blowing off thick caps of soil, shooting out chunks of ice and soil as large as 150 cubic metres.

Water absorbs a lot of solar heat and heats up quickly. Pouring out onto the surface from glacial voids, water significantly accelerates the melting of permafrost.

In the tundra, the breakthroughs of thermokarst lakes have become more frequent, which store huge amounts of melt water in the depths of the permafrost ice. After the breakthrough of such a lake, water rushes to the surface and destroys everything in its path.

If such water flows into the river, then devastating floods cannot be avoided.