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
Severnaya Zemlya of the Severnaya Zemlya group and is separated from Komsomolets Island by the Yuny Strait. Pioneer island measures in area. This island houses the Pioneer Glacier. Thelodonti fossils from the Upper Silurian have been found in the island. Off Pioneer Island's southwestern end lies Krupskoy Island. This is a fairly large island, over in length and about in width. The sound that separates it from Pioneer is only in width. This island should not be confused with Pioneer Island in Canada (). Schmidt Island, measuring , is located at the far northwestern end of the archipelago. This island is quite