After a brief introduction to this mystery lets us continue with the analysis of brother Soulaiman Soussi.
First we will look at the existing theories of the origins of the Yamal crater. We will consider why they are ludicrous or insufficient and which features of the crater are not adequately explained by these existing theories. Then we will propose Soulaiman Soussi’s theory as an alternative that better explains the geological features of this crater and its historical context. We will see how this interpretation is best supported by the photographic and historical evidence.
Since we began this series news of a second hole emerged. It’s photographs support this theory and we will examine it shortly.
We do not claim this to be the only possible interpretation. We merely suggest it as the most likely, and that others are easily debunked or can be exposed as being politically motivated or the result of open deception. Given brother Soulaiman Soussi’s research, including past research into Soviet Siberian history long before the crater was found, we feel that what we’re about to reveal to you is the most likely scenario – and the one that most fits with the geostrategic concerns of present-day Russia and its junta is led by President Putin.
Current theories, from the silly to the implausible.
Clearly much has been in the media lately about this anomaly. Siberia’s Zvezda TV’s airing grainy helicopter footage of the crater made the issue spread memetically viral. A subsequent helicopter video, take by a team of scientists visiting the site further piqued public interest and contributed to a flurry of speculations. These are the more significant speculations.
Claim: Space aliens or UFOs. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever of an extraterrestrial cause, whether by force of nature such as meteorites or an asteroid, much less than intelligent alien life. These sort of claims are simply wild guesses or worse purposefully planted disinformation and confusion. Even considering it makes one feel an IQ drop of several points. It is a distraction meant for certainly easily impressionable people. For others there are more sophisticated lies.
Claim: A Collapsed Pingo. A pingo is a type of conical hill found in tundra permafrost areas in Eurasia and the Americans. Pingos occur in permafrost when excess water, from a draining lake for example, is forced into previously unfrozen ground, and the ground deforms to relieve the growing water pressure. Over hundreds of years the ground projects upwards on-top of this growing bed of freezing water being absorbed in that area of the ground, often cracking near the summit of the hill as it grows and partially collapsing in on itself.
This picture from the New York Times illustrates pingo formation:
This is a picture of a collapsed Pingo, located in Kunlun Pass, China. Mentally compare it with the Yamal Crater
These are other collapsed Pingos, located in Canada (pictures copyright Park Canada):
Notice these features, the relative height of the hill’s ridges, the distinctive smooth contours upon collapse, and the closeness of piled material to the crater. In no case is there the appearance of actual ejecta, material violently expelled.
If you search for pictures of Siberian pingos you will note this pattern repeat over and over, whatever this hole in Yamal is, it does not resemble a pingo collapse. Their contours are smooths, there is no sign of rapid expulsion of ejecta, no signs of a violent explosion and dispersal of material. Put simply this theory is an idiotic grasping at straws.
Claim: A naturally occurring gas explosion, climate change induced. Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Center researcher Anna Kurchatova, first put in the claim that a pocket of natural gas when combined with salt and water could have produced a large explosion. The ultimate cause of this would be permafrost thawing due to anthropogenic climate-change. This claim was made, of course, at a distance without the researcher having visited the site. The exact chemical mechanisms through which this could occur were not stated. We could not find any clear evidence such a naturally occurring gas explosion, in Siberian tundra, with warming permafrost, due to a mix of salt and water, has ever been documented.
Anna Kurchatova’s claim is simply a theoretical speculation, her opinion, made in absence of any valid research data. Because of current concerns over global warming clearly this opinion resonates in the media, and this may be the point of it. At best it is a scientist’s semi-informed speculation, made at a distance, when given a voice in the media, at worse it represents a politicization of the science of the issue. It is a wild guess and only her position and authority gives it the illusion and veneer of authority.
Claim: Unspecified Natural Causes. Possibly Climate Change linked. Anna Liesowska, at the The Siberian Times (17 July 2014, ‘First pictures from inside the ‘crater at the end of the world’) interviewed Andrey Plekhanov’s research team after their expedition to the Yamal crater. Plekhanov claims the crater is a natural phenomenon without human cause. While his team doesn’t know when the hole formed, he states “We are working with space photographs to figure out exact time of its formation.” Plekhanov further says. “We can be certain in saying that the crater appeared relatively recently, perhaps a year or two ago; so it is a recent formation, we are not talking about dozen years ago.” How he can be certain regarding this is not stated, of course, and The Siberian Times takes it on his authority.
As to the cause, the Siberian Times preempted the climate-change question by directly prompting Plekhanov with the question. He replied “Could it be linked to the global warming? We have to continue our research to answer this question.” He notes that the summers of 2012 and 2013 were “relatively hot” for the Yamal region, and that “perhaps this has somehow influenced the formation of the crater.” However, of course, further tests and research would be needed first before he could “then say it more definitively.”
Unlike Anna Kurchatova Andrey Plekhanov actually was at the crater, examined it physically, and conducted tests there. You will note his wording is more cautious than Kurchatova’s. However this phrase, “and then say it more definitively” rhetorically more or less presupposes that global warming would ultimately be dredged out as a causal factor – post further research. For now, however, “we can say for sure that under the influence of internal processes there was an ejection in the permafrost” without reference to climate change or other human causes.
How exactly Plekhanov’s team could say “for sure” is not stated. In case we aren’t yet clear he further asserts; “I want to stress that it was not an explosion, but an ejection, so there was no heat released as it happened”. This statement addresses previous researchers’ observations, that the blackened appearance of the crater’s sides certainly were burn marks.
Plekhanov claimed the natural processes involved were covered in a theory Soviet scientists worked on in the 1980s. This unspecified theory was one that was “left and then forgotten for a number of years” as he put it. As to the terms of the theory, who actually proposed it, and its literature, none of this was stated. This makes his unspecified “theory” effectively a ‘black hole.’ it is effectively a convenient rhetorical dodge. He further claimed this theory addresses natural processes in the permafrost that led to prehistoric formation of a number of lakes in the Yamal peninsula roughly 8,000 years ago. He then speculated that perhaps these processes are repeating today.
In short, he has no idea. Since he is effectively a government scientist (if he is, in fact, a scientist and not an intelligence operative) you could assume that he is simply repeating whatever those apparatchiks who sent him there told him to say. In other words, his statements are effectively a stalling for time. His claims boil down to this; whatever caused the crater were “natural processes” and somehow vaguely connected to a 30ish year old Soviet theory that somehow was just “forgotten” by their research community.
Claim: A natural gas explosion, human induced. The nearest gas fields are 30 miles away, there are no known gas pipelines through the permafrost in this area. Moreover as researcher Andrey Plekhanov, from above, notes “If it was a man-made disaster linked by gas pumping, it would have happened closer to the gas fields” and “Gas workers would have been on alert, letting us know about it immediately.” This claim can be dismissed out-of-hand.
Claim: Gog and Magog (Yajuj wa Majuj) digging through their barrier. This theory has surfaced on a few Muslim forums. It is a reference to the Quran’s narrative of the peoples of Yajuj and Majuj being locked behind an iron barrier by the ancient Prophet and King Dhu al-Qarnayn. The people who mention this hypothesis believe Gog and Magog are locked behind some impenetrable barrier but will dig themselves out near the end of time. In future time, god willing, we will cover brother Soulaiman’s theory on Dhu al-Qarnayn and Yajuj and Majuj. Suffice to say people have been misreading the “hadith”narrations and simply making up things on this nature for a very long time. For now our response is simple:
Be serious. Please. This is not science fiction nor is it Hajji Baba telling you bedtime stories. This is only slightly more ludicrous than UFOs and Space Aliens. The only reason we included this easily blown down straw-man is to illustrate how confused people are truly being. The notion is idiotic.
Now let’s consider more plausible matters. Our next part will follow.
