Mysterious new craters in Siberia baffle scientists

Satellite imagery has revealed as many as 20 new craters surrounding one of three large craters that were discovered in Siberia last year. Scientists now know of seven craters in the Arctic, though they only have the exact locations of four of them.

"I would compare this with mushrooms: When you find one mushroom, be sure there are few more around," Vasily Bogoyavlensky, deputy director of the Moscow-based Oil and Gas Research Institute, told The Siberian Times. "I suppose there could be 20 to 30 craters more."

About 20 smaller craters surround one of the previously-known large craters, B2, on the Yamal peninsula. Scientists now believe there may be holes surrounding the other large craters, too.

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The smaller craters are filled with water, and scientists are now researching what, exactly, caused them to form. Bogoyavlensky told the Times that the investigation into the craters is "urgent," due to safety concerns. The scientists don't know when new gas emissions could occur.

The holes may be linked to climate change, and scientists believe the craters were likely caused by a gas explosion. Warm temperatures could have led to the explosion, and B2 is near one of the biggest gas fields in Russia.