Quirks and Quarks

Are there really 7,000 Siberian methane bubbles ready to explode?

Thousands of gas bubbles ready to explode in Siberia's permafrost? Not so fast, says a scientist who's studied the issue.
Russian scientists have discovered seven giant craters in remote Siberia, adding that the mysterious phenomenon was believed to be linked to climate change. (AFP/Getty Images)

There's been a lot of spooky news — some true, some not — coming out of Siberia lately about its melting permafrost. First came reports of giant erupting craters caused by a build up a methane. 

Then came questionable stories of 7,000 pingos — swollen mounds of earth in Siberia — that could explode at any minute. There are also supposedly 200 lakes in the area bubbling with methane. 

What can't be disputed is that scientists working there have noticed major changes. 

Dorothee Ehric was in Siberia when she came across a patch of land that acted more like she was walking on a waterbed than frozen ground. 

Dr. Vladimir Romanovsky is a professor of geophysics from the University of Alaska Fairbanks who's studied the permafrost. He says the reality is a little more nuanced.