Secrets revealed under 'eternal time bomb' in Siberia

Mummies, mammoth ivory, giant viruses are antiques that can be revealed if the permafrost in Siberia melts.

The permafrost in Siberia is like a refrigerator that naturally keeps everything buried inside for hundreds of thousands of years, according to Wired. But global warming is making this refrigerator switch to defrost mode. "The permafrost is a time bomb," said Robert Spencer, environmental research scientist Robert Spencer at the University of Florida, USA. When disintegrating, the ice can reveal many things that it has hidden since ancient times.

Bacteria

Anthrax bacteria are spread when the infected reindeer is defrosted.(Artwork: Business Insider).

A spread of anthrax bacteria spread in western Siberia 75 years ago, killing many caribou herds. In July of this year, warm weather caused frozen corpses for decades of defrosted reindeer, causing anthrax to spread 23 people and become a fatal. death.

Carbon

Residues of ice plants and animals contain up to 1,500 billion tons of carbon.(Photo: Instagram).

The remnants of ancient grass, fungi and animals buried in ice contain a total of 1,500 billion tons of carbon. Germs and bacteria eat that thick coating, emitting carbon dioxide that causes the atmosphere to heat up. Warming thawes again. The release of carbon from the permafrost is constantly repeated into a cycle.

Gas methane

Bacteria produce more methane gas when the ice melts.(Photo: Siberian Times).

In 2014, scientists began to discover large craters appearing along Russia's remote Yamal Peninsula. The most plausible explanation for this phenomenon is that the ground becomes hotter, causing the ice to melt, leading to the soil becoming wetter. Bacteria that produce more methane produce explosions that cause the ground to fall into the crater.

The royal family of Siberia

A tattoo on the Siberian princess mummy 2,500 years old.(Photo: Siberian Times).

In 1993, a Russian researcher found an extremely well preserved 2,500-year-old corpse of an ancient princess filled with spiral tattoos on him, burying many statues, spices and 6 horses. Archaeologists believe that while alive, the woman belonged to the noble lineage, unlike the remains of the common burial site.

Ivory mammoth

Ivory mammoths can emerge to the ground when the permafrost decays.(Photo: Phys.org).

Climate change causes soil to erode quickly, leading to ancient bone fragments that are easy to reveal.

Viruses

The giant ancient virus is buried under the Siberian ice.(Artwork: BBC).

For the past two years, French microbiologists have found two giant ancient viruses, buried deep in Siberia's permafrost. These viruses can still spread to other organisms such as amoeba. However, researchers recommend that even more scary viruses are hiding in thick ice.