In the permafrost of Russia's Arctic Circle, huge holes have been confirmed one after another for several years, and there are concerns about the impact on the surroundings.
For the first time, a Russian research team is using a drone to investigate the inside of this huge hole, and it is of interest to see if it will lead to the elucidation of the mechanism of hole formation.
In the Yamal Peninsula and Siberia in the Russian Arctic Circle, huge holes have been confirmed one after another since 2014, and there are concerns about the impact on the surrounding pipelines.
It is suspected that these huge holes could be created by the gas trapped in the permafrost exploding for some reason, but the details are unknown.
Under these circumstances, research teams such as the Russian Academy of Sciences released the results of the analysis of the 17th hole discovered last July by taking a picture of the inside with a drone for the first time last month.
It revealed that the hole was 25 meters in diameter and about 30 meters deep, with a large lateral cavity at the bottom of the hole.
This is the first time that the internal structure of a hole has been understood in such detail.
In an interview with NHK, Bogoya Brensky, deputy director of the Russian Academy of Sciences Oil and Gas Research Institute, who leads the research team, said, "Permafrost has melted and lost its strength due to the effects of global warming." I want to clarify.