Abrupt landscape changes in permafrost regions of Siberia

The Arctic is warming two times faster than any other place in the world. With this comes the thawing of perennially frozen ground, or  permafrost , which can alter the landscape. In areas with high ground ice content thaw-driven ground collapse is becoming more common. The Yamal and Gydan Peninsulas in Western Siberia contain relatively ice rich permafrost that is undergoing rapid change, including the occurrence of retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) and previously undocumented processes such as the formation of gas emission craters (GEC).

Due to increasing temperatures, changes in land surface elevation, vegetation, and water have occurred across 5% of the landscape in the Yamal and Gydan Peninsulas in Western Siberia [1]. In the interactive map below, orange pixels indicate detected change.

The formation of gas emission craters is a relatively new phenomenon and have only been detected in the Yamal and Gydan Peninsulas. There are eight craters documented in scientific literature but possibly 17 total known craters; so there is still much to learn about these features.

It is thought gas emission craters form due to a buildup of gas, generally methane, under the surface. The methane is likely sourced from unfrozen saline deposits, like cryopegs, which becomes trapped under impermeable layers of ice and permafrost and results in a pingo-like feature as depicted in the 2013 image below. When the crater explodes, ground material can be ejected tens of meters. After the crater forms, it can fill up with water and create a lake. This makes gas emission crater detection difficult as there are many lakes in this area.

As ice-rich permafrost thaws, terrain consolidation thermokarst can cause the formation of ground collapse features. Retrogressive thaw slumps are a type of thermokarst which result in a landslide that can extend hundreds of meters downslope.

Features of permafrost thaw can rapidly displace hundreds of cubic meters of ground material, posing a threat to  infrastructure  and to the people who live in the Arctic. Further, biogeochemical transformation of thawed permafrost substrate can be a source of  greenhouse gasses  to the atmosphere. Another threat is the possible reemergence of potentially harmful  viruses and bacteria  that have been locked in the permafrost for thousands of years. However, the full implications of gas emission craters and retrogressive thaw slumps are uncertain, in part, because of a lack of information about their distribution in remote locations of the Arctic.

As the Arctic continues to warm and the permafrost continues to thaw in these areas, abrupt landscape changes and the risks that come along with them have the potential to keep occurring. This list of gas emission craters is current with features described in scientific literature and will continue to be updated as new features are formed and discovered.