By this point in 2016, it’s very clear that global warming (perhaps more accurately referred to as climate change) is real, and it’s changing our planet in terrifying ways.
The latest victim of climate change? The permafrost of Siberia. Siberia is an area of Russia that’s heavily encased in snow for most of the year. When spring rolls around, the ground doesn’t actually thaw (or at least it didn’t used to).
Now, thanks to sustained temperatures that have been much higher than normal, Siberia’s permafrost landscape is thawing out, and patches are turning into nature’s little versions of trampolines. Just take a look at the video below in a which a local hunter demonstrates the physics at play here.
I don’t think soil is supposed to be able to do that.
As the permafrost begins to thaw, it releases bubbles of methane that gather together just below the surface and lend it that bouncy effect.
Those investigating the region found over a dozen of them. When they were pierced, each of them released methane and carbon dioxide, both of which are considered greenhouse gasses.
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