A team of scientists was summoned to the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia to investigate the appearance of a 262-foot wide crater. What the researchers found might perhaps disappoint the public, as it was confirmed the crater was not a result of a meteorite or a UFO.
After collecting samples of soil, air, and water from the scene of the enormous crater, the team of scientists from the Scientific Research Center of the Arctic led by Andrei Plekhanov determined that the most likely result of the crater was a "build-up of excessive pressure underground, due to the region's changing temperatures," as stated in this Daily Mail article.
Originally speculated causes of the crater included global warming, a meteorite crash, a UFO landing site, a gas explosion, or a sinkhole caused by collapsing rock. The darkened sides of the crater indicated intense temperatures caused by something igniting or exploding. However, there were no such traces of something striking the area with unbelievable force and speed.
Plekhanov said 80% of the crater appeared to be made of ice, which eliminated speculations of a meteorite or UFO hitting the area, but some still considered a gas explosion to be the most likely occurrence because the Yamal Peninsula is one of the most geologically young places on Earth and contains the largest natural gas reservoir in Russia. The experts thus assessed global warming as the cause for the immense crater.
They believe changes in the environment resulted in the releasing of gases under the surface and forced the ground to explode like a Champagne cork. Anna Kurchatova, a researcher from the Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Center confirms Plekhanov's belief that global warming was the cause of the crater's appearance. She believes that a mixture of water, salt, and gas ignited and caused an underground explosion - a result of global warming.
The Yamal Peninsula, comprising of some areas less than 10,000 years old, is Russia's main production area for gas supplied to Europe and is largely undeveloped, which likely made the appearance of the crater bizarre. Nonetheless, all the conspiracy theories can be put to rest for now. You can read more about the crater on the Yamal Peninsula in this Siberian Times article.
