Climate change and global warming manifest themselves in different ways. The most common signs are higher temperatures throughout the year and less snow cover in winter. But global warming can also change the landscape around us. A disturbing example of this can be seen near the small Siberian town of Batagai in Yakutia, writes on the pages Forbes American evolutionary biologist from Rutgers University Scott Travers.
What local residents and journalists loudly dubbed the "Gate to Hell", scientists call more restrainedly - Batagay thermokarst depression, or simply Batagay crater. If you look from above, the object does not look so scary - it is a fairly large ravine more than a kilometer long and up to 100 meters deep. But the Batagay crater differs from an ordinary ravine in its origin. It was not formed by temporary streams of rain or melt water, but something else.
As Travers writes, in the 1960s, under Soviet rule, the area was cleared of forests. They served as a kind of thermal insulation for the thick layer of permafrost below. Without the shade of trees and fallen leaves, the thin soil began to absorb more of the sun's heat, which immediately began to affect the ancient ice lying just below. And the ice began to slowly melt. The top layer of soil collapsed as the ice beneath it disappeared. And so the small gap gradually widened, destroying the landscape in a self-reinforcing chain reaction.
By the 1980s, the crater was large enough to draw attention. Today, it continues to expand, gradually swallowing up the surrounding hills. And the worst thing is that there is no way to stop this process.
And while the Batagai Crater has become a source of valuable scientific information about the past (for example, the body of a baby mammoth was found well-preserved in permafrost in the crater), it also potentially poses a threat not only to the local landscape. Permafrost preserves ancient strains of viruses and bacteria. In 2016, there was already a precedent when a thawed reindeer carcass caused an outbreak of anthrax in the Russian Yamal region, as a result of which dozens of people fell ill and one child died.
In addition to microbial problems, the expansion of the Batagai crater is making its own small contribution to accelerating the global warming that gave rise to it. The permafrost holds thousands of tons of carbon and methane. Their release into the atmosphere would be a powerful greenhouse gas.
The more permafrost melts, the more of these gases will enter the atmosphere. And the more carbon and methane in the atmosphere, the hotter the weather on Earth becomes and the faster the permafrost melts. It's a vicious cycle, with the process accelerating with each turn.
“With each melting layer, Batagayka Crater reveals relics of long-lost worlds, while simultaneously unleashing forces that could change our own. In this gaping wound, carved by climate and time, the Earth speaks. The question is whether we are willing to listen.” – writes Scott Travers.
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