Just a few weeks ago, news broke out of a massive hole that had appeared out of nowhere in Russia. Because of that occurrence, researchers are investigating the main cause of that strange phenomenon

The hole measured about 30 meters (approximately 98.4 feet) across and seems to be several dozen feet deep. Around the hole is a buildup of ground that has fairly steep walls.

Photos of this odd geological structure hit the online community, and got several people give their explanation of its origin. Some pointed that it was a result of a meteorite crash, while others blamed it to missile strikes, and even extraterrestrial phenomenon.

Specialist Andrei Plekhanov, along with the Scientific Center of Arctic Studies in Salekhard, Russia, disagree with either theories. The researcher and his colleagues believe that the hole was caused by a methane blast.

While studying the geological formation, the specialists have recorded high concentrations of methane, i.e. 9.6%, in the air close to the hole's bottom. They suspect that the methane blast that have created this massive crater in Russia's Yamal Peninsula occurred due to considerable melting of the permafrost in this part of the world, Nature informs.

Specifically, the scientists believe that, as the local permafrost melted and eventually collapsed under its own weight, methane that had probably spent decades hidden in the underground was suddenly released, causing the mysterious hole to form.

This theory is supported by the fact that permafrost in this part of Russia is now about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than it was two decades ago. Global warming is believed to have caused Russia's frozen soils to warm to this extent.

Even if Andrei Plekhanov and his colleagues are correct about the cause of the crater and the subsequent thawing of the local permafrost, chances are that, as global warming and climate change progress, several other such occurrences will happen in Russia as well as in other parts of the world.