70.3000°N, 67.8700°E.
Cluster of cylindrical craters appearing in the permafrost of the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas of northwestern Siberia since 2014. The first crater (Yamal Crater B1, discovered July 2014 by helicopter pilots) is 30 metres deep and 25 metres in diameter at the rim. At least 17 similar craters have been identified by 2024. , Russian Academy of Sciences) attribute the craters to pneumatic ejection: methane gas from decomposing organic material trapped in cryopegs (subterranean unfrozen brine pockets) builds pressure under a frozen soil cap until catastrophic rupture launches the cap and ejected material. Methane spikes in the surrounding atmosphere have been measured 50,000 times background. Permafrost in the region warmed approximately 2 °C between 1975 and 2018.
The Siberian tundra has begun ejecting cylindrical holes 30 metres deep without warning — and the cause is methane that has been frozen since before our species walked upright.