They may be due to hot time bombs made of natural gas building up under the frozen ground. AdvertisementScientists are putting forward a new explanation for the giant exploding craters that seem to be randomly appearing in the Siberian permafrost. AdvertisementNow scientists are proposing that hot natural gas seeping from underground reserves might be behind the explosive burst. The natural gas building up over a layer of sediment is represented in purple. The area is rife with natural gas reserves, which lines up with Hellevang and colleagues' theory, per the study.

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Persons: —, Helge Hellevang, VASILY BOGOYAVLENSKY, It's, Sofie Bates, Hellevang, Helge Hellevang et, Lauren Schurmeier, Thomas Birchall, Hellenvang Organizations: Service, University of Oslo, Gas, Getty, NASA, University of Hawai'i, New, University Locations: Siberia, Norway, AFP, Northern Russia, Canada, Svalbard