‘Gateway to the underworld’ in Siberia is growing at a staggering rate every year: Study
New research suggests that the Batagay mega slump’s cliff face is retreating at a rate of 40 feet (12 metres) per year due to permafrost thaw. The collapsed section of the hillside is also rapidly melting and sinking. Photograph:( X )
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The mega slump was of 2,600 feet (790 m) wide in 2014, which means it grew 660 feet (200 m) wider in less than 10 years. Researchers were aware that it was growing, but this is the first time they have quantified the volume of melting material out of the crater.
The mega slump was of 2,600 feet (790 m) wide in 2014, which means it grew 660 feet (200 m) wider in less than 10 years. Researchers were aware that it was growing, but this is the first time they have quantified the volume of melting material out of the crater.
One of the massive craters in the world, famously known as the “gateway to the underworld” is growing by 35 million cubic feet every year. The huge crater situated in Serbia’s permafrost is expanding due to melting of the ground, a new study has found.
Officially known as Batagay (spelled as Batagaika), the crater or mega slump is a rounded cliff face that was first discovered in 1991 through satellite images. It was created after a section of hillside collapsed in the Yana Uplands of northern Yakutia in Russia.
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This collapse exposed layers of permafrost within the remaining portion of the hillside that have been frozen for up to 650,000 years now. It is known as the oldest permafrost in Siberia and second oldest in the world.
New research suggests that the Batagay mega slump’s cliff face is retreating at a rate of 40 feet (12 metres) per year due to permafrost thaw. The collapsed section of the hillside is also rapidly melting and sinking.
"Rapid permafrost thaw features are widespread and observed to increase in Arctic and sub-Arctic ice-rich permafrost terrain," the research team wrote in a study, published online March 31 in the journal Geomorphology. However, the amount of ice and sediment lost from the Batagay mega slump is "exceptionally high" due to the sheer size of the depression, which stretched 3,250 feet (990 m) wide as of 2023.
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The mega slump was of 2,600 feet (790 m) wide in 2014, which means it grew 660 feet (200 m) wider in less than 10 years. Researchers were aware that it was growing, but this is the first time they have quantified the volume of melting material out of the crater.
The results from the research showed that a region of ice and sediment equivalent to more than 14 Great Pyramids of Giza has melted off the mega slump since it collapsed.
The rate of melting has remained relatively steady over the past decade, occurring mostly along the slump on the western, southern and southeastern edges of the crater.
(With inputs from agencies)
