The Permafrost Carbon Feedback Nobody's Talking About

In 2014, a helicopter pilot flying over Siberia spotted something impossible: a massive crater, over 50 meters deep, punched straight into the frozen tundra. There was no meteorite. No explosion from above. The ground itself had blown open — from the inside. Since then, more than twenty similar craters have appeared across the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas. Local Nenets herders call them "gates to the underworld." Scientists call it something else entirely: the permafrost carbon feedback — and some believe it may be one of the most consequential and least understood risks to Earth's climate. This is the story of what's actually happening beneath the frozen ground of Siberia — from a scientist once dismissed as eccentric for trying to recreate an Ice Age ecosystem, to expeditions that found methane bubbling from the Arctic seafloor in plumes over a kilometer wide, to buildings sinking into the earth in towns across the Russian north. Some researchers believe this is one of the greatest underappreciated risks on the planet. Others believe the danger has been exaggerated. This video lays out the evidence, the disagreement, and why the answer may matter far beyond Siberia. #Siberia #ClimateScience #Permafrost #Documentary #Arctic #Methane #Science #Mystery