Mystery of the Siberian crater deepens: Scientists left baffled after two NEW holes appear in Russia's icy wilderness

• One of the craters is located in Siberia's Yamal Peninsula in the Taz district and has a diameter of 49ft (15 metres)
  
• The other was spotted on the Taymyr Peninsula in Kransoyark region and has a diameter of 13ft (four metres)
• They follow the discovery of a larger hole found in Yamal earlier this month at around 230ft (70 metres) in diameter
• Andrei Plekhanov from Scientific Research Center of the Arctic says crater was formed due to rising temperatures
• One theory is that a chunk of ice that is located underground created a hole in the ground when it melted
• Another is that the crater was formed by a mixture of water, salt and gas igniting an underground explosion
  

By Will Stewart In Moscow and Ellie Zolfagharifard

Published: 07:23 EST, 28 July 2014 | Updated: 09:31 EST, 28 July 2014

New unexplained holes have appeared in Siberia following the mystery over a giant crater on the Yamal Peninsula.

A second is in the same permafrost region of northern Russia, and a third on the Taymyr Peninsula, to the east, in Kransoyark region. Both were spotted by reindeer herders who almost fell in.

The original hole received worldwide attention after being identified by helicopter pilots some 20 miles (32km) from a huge gas extraction plant at Bovanenkov.

Scroll down for video

Now the new holes - smaller in diameter but similar in shape - are posing a fresh challenge for Russian scientists.

'Theories range from meteorites, stray missiles, a man-made prank, and aliens, to an explosive cocktail of methane or shale gas suddenly exploding,' reported The Siberian Times.

'The version about melting permafrost due to climate change, causing a release of methane gas, which then forces an eruption is the current favourite, though scientists are reluctant to offer a firm conclusion without more study.'

The new Yamal crater is in the area's Taz district near the village of Antipayuta and has a diameter of about 49ft (15 metres).

The third crater is in the Taymyr Peninsula and was accidentally discovered by reindeer herders who almost fell into it, in the vicinity of the remote outpost of Nosok. The funnel is a perfectly formed cone, say locals who are mystified over its formation. Its depth is estimated at between 200 to 330ft (60 to 100 metres) and its diameter - more than 13ft (four metres)

A deputy of the regional parliament - or duma - Mikhail Lapsui said: 'I flew by helicopter to inspect this funnel' which he said was formed last year though only now have reports of it reached the outside world.

'There is ground outside, as if it was thrown as a result of an underground explosion.

'According to local residents, the hole formed on 27 September 2013.

'Observers give several versions. According to the first, initially at the place was smoking, and then there was a bright flash. In the second version, a celestial body fell there.'

The chief scientist of the Earth Cryosphere Institute, Marina Leibman, told URA.RU website in Sibera: 'I have heard about the second funnel on Yamal, in Taz district, and saw the pictures.

'Undoubtedly, we need to study all such formations. It is necessary to be able to predict their occurrence.

'Each new funnel provides additional information for scientists.'

The third crater and hole is in the Taymyr Peninsula and was accidentally discovered by reindeer herders who almost fell into it, in the vicinity of the remote outpost of Nosok.

The funnel is a perfectly formed cone, say locals who are mystified over its formation.

Its depth is estimated at between 200 to 330ft (60 to 100 metres) and its diameter - more than 13ft (four metres).

Experts - geologists, ecologists, and historians - have not come to a consensus about the origin of the funnel, say reports in the region.

'It is not like this is the work of men, but also doesn't look like natural formation,' said one account expressing puzzlement at its creation.

Scientists in Krasnoyarsk region - the second largest in Russia - plan further study of this hole. 

The first hole is around 230ft (70 metres) deep and when a group of experts visited it earlier this month, they noted an icy at its bottom.

Their footage highlights a darkening around the rim which was earlier seen as evidence of heat possibly from an explosion during the crater's creation.

'They found the crater - around up to 300ft (70 metres) deep - has an icy lake at its bottom, and water is cascading down its eroding permafrost walls,' said The Siberian Times.

‘It is not as wide as aerial estimates which earlier suggested between 164ft and 328ft (50 and 100 metres).’

Andrey Plekhanov, senior researcher at the Russian Scientific Centre of Arctic Research, revealed that satellite mapping imagery is being used to establish when the phenomenon was formed, thought to be in the last year or two.

'The crater has more of an oval than a circular shape, it makes it harder to calculate the exact diameter,' he said.

'As of now our estimates is about 98ft (30 metres). If we try to measure diameter together with soil emission, the so-called parapet, then the diameter is up to 197ft (60 metres).

The structure is so fragile that the scientists could not climb deep into the lake and had to send a camera down instead.

One theory is that the feature is a ‘pingo,’ reports the Sunday Morning Herald.

A pingo is a large chunk of ice that is located underground that can create a hole in the ground when it melts.

‘Certainly from the images I’ve seen it looks like a periglacial feature, perhaps a collapsed pingo,’ Dr Chris Fogwill of the University of New South Wales said.

‘This is obviously a very extreme version of that, and if there’s been any interaction with the gas in the area, that is a question that could only be answered by going there.’

Dr Plekhanov added the hole was most likely the result of a 'build-up of excessive pressure' underground, due to the region's changing temperatures.

He said 80 per cent of the crater appeared to be made up of ice and that there were no traces of an explosion.

The discovery eliminates the possibility that a meteorite had struck the region.

'Could it be linked to the global warming? Well, we have to continue our
research to answer this question,' said Dr Plekhanov.

'Two previous summers - years 2012 and 2013 were relatively hot for Yamal, perhaps this has somehow influenced the formation of the crater.

'But we have to do our tests and research first and then say it more definitively.'

After the hole was discovered, there was speculation online about the crater indicating 'the arrival of a UFO craft'.

Ruling out extra-terrestrial intervention, Dr Plekhanov said: 'We can say for sure that under the influence of internal processes there was an ejection in the permafrost.

'I want to stress that was not an explosion, but an ejection, so there was no heat released as it happened.'

The latest expedition organised by the Yamal authorities included experts from Russia's Centre for the Study of the Arctic, and also the Cryosphere Institute of the Academy of Sciences.

They took samples of soil, air and water from the scene and were accompanied by a specialist from Russia's Emergencies Ministry.

Anna Kurchatova from the Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Centre, previously said the crater was formed by a mixture of water, salt and gas igniting an underground explosion, a result of global warming.

Gas accumulated in ice could have mixed with sand beneath the surface, and then mixed with salt.

Global warming may have caused an 'alarming' melt in the under-soil ice, released gas and causing an effect like the popping of a Champagne bottle cork, Ms Kurchatova suggests.

Yamal, a large peninsula jutting into Arctic waters, is Russia's main production area for gas supplied to Europe. 

Dr Plekhanov said: 'I've never seen anything like this, even though I have been to Yamal many times.'

The crater is different from others on Yamal. The experts say the phenomenon maybe a restarting of a process not seen for 8,000 years when the lake-pocked Yamal landscape was formed on what was once a sea.

This maybe 'repeating nowadays', he said. 'If this theory is confirmed, we can say that we have witnessed a unique natural process that formed the unusual landscape of Yamal peninsula.'