Wait for it....this weird thing was not created by Aliens, this is Batagaika Crater in Siberia. The crater is over a kilometer long, 100 metres deep and growing rapidly. The crater, known to locals as the "Doorway to the Underworld' is the result of permafrost melt caused by atmospheric warming.

The crater formation first started after a large chunk of forest was cleared nearby in the 1960s. Because the ground was no longer shaded in the warm, summer months, it heated up more rapidly than it had in the past, eventually causing the permafrost to melt and the ground to collapse.

As we have mentioned before, permafrost melt is not just of concern to the immediate locality and structures that lie above it, it is an example of one climate change’s positive feedback loop processes. Since large amounts of organic carbon and methane are stored within the permafrost, its melting can release these gases into the atmosphere, causing more warming and subsequently more permafrost melt.

We plan to deploy time lapse cameras at locations where these impacts are visible, to capture these changes as they happen. To help fund our mission and the creation of beautiful video highlighting the impact of rarely before seen climate change processes, click here to donate.

Images from Google Earth