Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Darvaza Gas Crater

The Darvaza gas crater (Turkmen: Garagum ýalkymy),[1] also known as the Door to Hell or Gates of Hell, or, officially, the Shining of Karakum, is a burning natural gas field collapsed into a cavern near Darvaza, Turkmenistan.[2] The floor and especially rim of the crater is illumined by hundreds of natural gas fires. The crater has been burning for an unknown amount of time, as how the crater formed and ignited remains unknown.[3]

Geography[edit]

A crater filled with water; gas bubbles are visible.[4] About 23 km from the Darvaza Gas Crater.

[4]

The gas crater is near the village of Darvaza in the middle of the Karakum Desert, about 260 kilometres (160 mi) north of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Another nearby gas crater is fenced off, and smells of natural gas [4] The crater has a diameter of 60–70 metres (200–230 ft)[5][4] and has a depth of about 30 metres (98 ft).[6]

The Mud Crater. About 10 km from the Darvaza Gas Crater.

History[edit]

The early years of the crater's history are uncertain.[3][5] Relevant records are either absent from the archives, classified, or inaccessible.[1][3] Some local geologists have claimed that the collapse into a crater happened in the 1960s; it was set on fire only in the 1980s to prevent emission of poisonous gases.[7] Others assert that the site was drilled by Soviet engineers in 1971 as an oil field but collapsed within days, forming the crater, with the engineers choosing to flare the crater to prevent emission of poisonous gases but underestimating the volume of the gas.[8]

Controlling the burn[edit]

In April 2010, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow recommended that measures be taken to limit the crater's influence on the development of other natural gas fields in the area.[9] In January 2022, Berdimuhamedow announced plans to extinguish the crater, citing negative effects on local's and natural health as well as lost profits in the natural gas industry.[10][11] A commission was established to find the optimum technique.[6] Despite Berdimuhamedow's intentions, the crater remains open.

Tourism and culture[edit]

The Darvaza gas crater and the surroundings. Tents are visible, which facilitates a nocturnal trip to the site.

[4]

In post-Soviet Turkmenistan, the crater has become a minor tourist attraction,[7] perhaps aided to an extent by the declaration of the region as a natural reserve in 2013.[8] A crude road without signage runs out to the crater, and yurts have been set up nearby.[8][11] In 2018, the gas crater was used as an overnight stop in the Amul-Hazar automobile rally.[12] In 2019, Berdimuhamedow appeared on state television doing doughnut stunts around the crater to disprove rumors of his death.[13]

Exploration[edit]

In 2013, George Kourounis became the first person to set foot at the bottom of the crater;[5] he was gathering soil samples for the Extreme Microbiome Project.[14] The descent was sponsored by National Geographic and featured in an episode of the National Geographic Channel series Die Trying.[7]

I describe it as a coliseum of fire—just everywhere you look it's thousands of these small fires. The sound was like that of a jet engine, this roaring, high-pressure, gas-burning sound. And there was no smoke. It burns very cleanly, so there's nothing to obscure your view. You can just see every little lick of flame.

George Kourounis, Interview with National Geographic[7]

Kourounis used a custom-made Kevlar harness attached to multiple Technora ropes attached to a full-body aluminized suit with a self-contained breathing apparatus.[15] He has since wished to descend into the crater again, carrying more equipment for better profiling of the local biome.[15]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Davies, Elliott (2017-01-26). "I traveled to the middle of the desert to see 'The Door To Hell'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  2. ^ Bland, Stephen (2014-04-08). "Turkmenistan Has Its Very Own 'Gate to Hell'". Vice.com. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  3. ^ a b c "How the Soviets accidentally discovered the 'Gates of Hell'". BBC. 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  4. ^ a b c d e Brummell, Paul (2005). Turkmenistan. Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 133–134. ISBN 978-1-84162-144-9.
  5. ^ a b c Shearlaw, Maeve (2014-07-18). "Dropping in on Turkmenistan's 'door to hell' – in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
  6. ^ a b Marcus, Lilit (10 January 2022). "Gates of Hell: Turkmenistan's President wants to close Darvaza gas crater". CNN. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d Nunez, Christina (2014-07-14). "Q&A: The First-Ever Expedition to Turkmenistan's 'Door to Hell'". National Geographic. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  8. ^ a b c "Turkmenistan hopes 'Door to Hell' will boost tourism". CTV News. Relaxnews. Agence France-Presse. 2014-06-22. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  9. ^ Gurt, Marat (2010-04-20). "Turkmen president wants to close "Hell's Gate"". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
  10. ^ "Turkmenistan plans to close its 'Gateway to Hell'". BBC News. 2022-01-08. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  11. ^ a b Galer, Sophia Smith (10 January 2022). "The 'Gates of Hell' Could be Closed After Blazing for 50 Years". VICE.
  12. ^ "International rally Amul – Hazar - Turkmen desert race 2018". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.
  13. ^ "Turkmenistan's leader does doughnuts next to the flaming crater to prove he's not dead". ABC News. 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  14. ^ Tighe, Scott; Afshinnekoo, Ebrahim; Rock, Tara M.; McGrath, Ken; Alexander, Noah; McIntyre, Alexa; Ahsanuddin, Sofia; Bezdan, Daniela; Green, Stefan J.; Joye, Samantha; Stewart Johnson, Sarah; Baldwin, Don A.; Bivens, Nathan; Ajami, Nadim; Carmical, Joseph R. (April 2017). "Genomic Methods and Microbiological Technologies for Profiling Novel and Extreme Environments for the Extreme Microbiome Project (XMP)". Journal of Biomolecular Techniques. 28 (1): 31–39. doi:10.7171/jbt.17-2801-004. ISSN 1524-0215. PMC 5345951. PMID 28337070.
  15. ^ a b Dalton, Louisa (7 November 2022). "How to Pack for Sampling Earth's Hottest Pockets: Adventurous scientists traverse hellish landscapes in Iceland, Turkmenistan, and Hawaii". ACS Chemical Health & Safety. 29 (6): 470–471. doi:10.1021/acs.chas.2c00081. S2CID 253413420.


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