Mysterious bubbles on Belyy Island in Russia’s Kara Sea are leaking methane at 200 times the usual rate, producing “trembling tundra” where carbon dioxide levels are also 20 times higher than normal.
The report from Russian scientists adds to the appearance of large sinkholes in northern Siberian that had previously raised serious concerns about the stability of Arctic permafrost.
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“As we took off a layer of grass and soil, a fountain of gas erupted,” stated a report from the researchers on the scene. “It was like jelly,” said one scientist. “We have not come across anything like this before.”
He warned that there is “serious reason to be concerned if gas bubbles appear in the permafrost zone,” with “unpredictable” consequences, the Daily Mail reports.
