The Siberian sinkhole at the “end of the world” is 262 feet wide, up to 300 feet deep, and it has scientists perplexed as to what might have caused such a terrifying hole. While the origin of the Siberian sinkhole is currently being investigated by a group of international scientists, some observers of the phenomenon have already made up their mind – aliens caused the hole. “The pit is evidence of arrival of UFOs landing on the planet,” is one of the theories mentioned by Liberty Voice on July 20.
The notion that the Siberian sinkhole on the Yamal peninsula (Yamal means “end of the world”) was created by aliens and maybe their UFOs is one of the favorite theories discussed by readers. As one commentator wrote, “as a Qualified Academic in Mathematical Studies...I have come to the firm conclusion, it is the residue left, by a Rocket being launched...possibly by the Aliens from another Galaxy!” Some readers who have no doubt that the mysterious hole was created by aliens raise the question as to why? “Aliens, no doubt about it. The only question is what do they want?”
The idea that the hole on the Yamal peninsula originated by some visitors from out of space sounds a lot more intriguing than the scientific explanation provided by The Sydney Morning Herald. According to an Australian polar scientist, the giant mysterious crater in northern Siberia is the result of a melted ice formation that gave in due to global warming.
The geological phenomenon is called a “pingo” -- a block of ice that has grown into a small hill in the frozen arctic ground, pushes its way through the earth to the surface, and when it melts away, leaves an exposed crater. But even Australian scientists admit that the Siberian sinkhole is “obviously a very extreme version of that.”
Australian scientist Dr. Fogwill describes pingos to be a natural occurrence and that they can be seen in the Arctic on satellite images. However, Dr. Fogwill is also pointing out that due to global warming, more and bigger pingos are likely to occur: “We’re seeing much more activity in permafrost areas than we’ve seen in the historical past. A lot of this relates to this high degree of warming around these high arctic areas which are experiencing some of the highest rates of warming on earth.”
First pictures from inside the Siberian sinkhole at the “end of the world” were released by The Siberian Times after a team of scientists arrived in Yamal. Andrey Plekhanov, Senior Researcher at the State Scientific Centre of Arctic Research, describes the crater to have an oval shape rather than a circular shape. When researchers went inside the crater, they discovered that the crater was filled with ice by about 80 per cent, and that the ice was gradually melting from the heat of the sun.The researchers were unable to make their way to the bottom, but could see an icy lake there.
As previously reported, the Siberian sinkhole at the “end of the world” was first spotted by a helicopter crew working for a Russian oil company, but scientists estimate that the crater developed during the past two years. 'We have taken soil and ice samples which went straight to laboratories. We can be certain in saying that the crater appeared relatively recently, perhaps a year or two ago; so it is a recent formation, we are not talking about dozen years ago.” What scientists are not certain about is what exactly caused the gigantic crater. For those who prefer to think that the hole was created by aliens and their UFOs rather than global warming, the Siberian sinkhole raises a completely new question – are UFOs round or oval?