Arctic methane emissions permafrost thawing. Near the bottom of the first sinkhole, air contained unusually high concentrations of methane, according to tests conducted by the researchers. This hypothesis points to the destabilization of gas hydrates containing huge amounts of methane gas. According to researchers at Norway's Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate (CAGE), through a process called geothermal heat flux, the Siberian permafrost which extends to the seabed of the Kara Sea, a section of the Arctic Ocean between the Yamal Peninsula and Novaya Zemlya, is thawing. According to a CAGE researcher, Aleksei Portnov, Methane hydrate is leaking in an area of at least
Zemlya Georga Zemlya Georga Zemlya Georga, or Prince George Land (; "Zemlya Georga", "George Land"), is an island in Franz Josef Land, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russian Arctic. Zemlya Georga was named by Benjamin Leigh Smith after Prince George. With a total surface of , Zemlya Georga is the largest island of the Franz Josef Archipelago. It is also the longest, with a distance of between its northernmost and its southernmost ends. The highest point of the island is the summit of Brusilov Ice Dome, the northeastern ice dome, at . The island has a complex coastline, with many bays, deep inlets and capes.