Why would there be gas in the permafrost? Could there be old plant matter? How can there be plant matter if there is permafrost?
The permafrost begins inches or feet below the surface. Growth of vegetation, moss, lichens, over the summer warming, then freezes and the following season new growth flourishes over the top of the old.
So yes, there are layers and layers and layers of decaying or partly decayed matter which during the seasonal thaws releases methane, or natural gas which sometimes can ignite from lightning or other natural or man made causes.
To explode, conditions have to be right, perhaps with a cave or underground grotto with the right mixture of air and gas and a ignition source.
It could happen, but whether it happened here requires research. It does not look like much of a explosion to me..
More like a ground fart.
Re: “Why would there be gas in the permafrost? Could there be old plant matter? How can there be plant matter if there is permafrost?”
That’s a really good insight.
However, I was under the general impression that almost all natural gas forms from marine organisms, not from plant life.
I had an instant thought, also, but in a different direction.
It’s hard to believe these craters are forming for the very first time in history.
Thus, there might be many more of these craters, now filled in over thousands of years, in this region.
If there are more ancient craters out there, I’ll guess each one might be a treasure chest for paleontology and archeology.
hydrates