Siberian giant craters keep popping up and they’re leaving Russian scientists guessing as to what the real reason behind their existence is.

Scientists are guessing that Siberian giant craters are appearing due to gas emissions, but they cannot be completely certain about it.

Yamal is a Siberian Peninsula and it actually means the end of the world. Scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) believe that the peninsula is becoming more and more porous. In July of 2014 a large sinkhole measuring 260 feet appeared in Yamal and now researchers are saying that up to 30 more sinkholes could pop up unexpectedly.

Russian scientists have found nine more craters in the region since the discovery of the first one and one in particular is drawing attention. The B2 crater is surrounded by 20 water-filled smaller craters and deputy director of the RAS-affiliated Oil and Gas Research Institute, Vasily Bogoyavlensky, believed that they will find even more craters just like it.

He stated:

I would compare this with mushrooms: when you find one mushroom, be sure there are few more around. I suppose there could be 20 to 30 craters more.

Gas emissions are only part of the explanation as why these Siberian giant craters appeared. Some people in the vicinity of the crater have reported seeing a flash of light near the site of one of the craters, while others said that they felt tremors before the appearance of a crater. All these reports point at a more otherworldly explanation, but scientists believe the culprit behind the Siberian giant craters is methane.

It is suspected that methane gas emissions lead to the forming of the craters and the release of methane could be put on global warming. A thaw of the Siberian landscape could have make possible underground gas reserved to come to the surface.

Previous data seems to support the theory of methane gas, as researchers have noticed in the past that Yamal lakes presented the phenomenon called degassing, where gas was released and rose from the lakebed.

According to Bogoyavlensky, gas emissions are capable of causing serious damage to drilling rigs and to communities close to them. He highlighted the importance of further research into the matter and added that it was very important not to scare people, even though the issue is a very serious one.

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