Chuvilin was part of a team of Russian scientists who visited the crater in August 2020. The mound grows in size before blowing out ice and other debris in an explosion and leaving behind the massive crater. "Climate change, of course, has an impact on the probability of gas blowout craters appearing in the Arctic permafrost," Chuvilin said. The scientists' model correctly predicted all seven craters that had been reported by scientists by 2017 and revealed the formation of three new ones. The researchers also found that the craters are just one unsettling sign that the northernmost reaches of our planet are undergoing radical changes.

Source: CNN February 17, 2021 09:11 UTC