The residents of a village located on Russia’s Taymyr Peninsula were in for quite a surprise when they discovered a rift filled with warm water emerging from the permafrost near their settlement, according to Russian media reports.
The emergent body of water is about 30 meters in diameter and emits a strong sulfurous odor.
Eyewitnesses also reported experiencing warm air currents in the area, adding that the lake currently appears to be slowly sinking into the ground.
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Scientists at the Norilsk-based Institute of Agriculture and Arctic Ecology told the media that the rift is likely the product of groundwater activity and does not pose any threat to the locals.
"Landscape changes are a cyclical process. Things change every 100 years," one of the scientists said, adding that despite its name, permafrost is not permanent.