Talk about an explosive situation. These strange-looking formations underneath the ice actually have the potential to do some serious damage. That’s because all of those light discolorations are frozen methane gas bubbles. But don’t let the mystery of this sight entice you into spending too much time standing around the areas in which the bubbles appear.
If, for any reason, the larger ones happen to blow with you next to them – you’re not going to have a very good day. Scientists also claim that the climate will continue to get warmer as the gas escapes back into the atmosphere.
Bacteria Galore
Some bacteria found in the permafrost in different areas of the world are thought to have originated several million years ago. Scientists recently pulled out some samples, frozen in an enormous ice block, that were over 700,000 years old.
These Stone Age cells have been able to give researchers a peek into the climate of the world as it was way back when. But scientists fear that as more of the world’s ice melts away and releases more bacteria, more ancient diseases could return to wreak havoc upon certain parts of the world. Of course, they also can’t say for certain, so there’s no reason to worry about a zombie virus outbreak just yet.
A Message in a Bottle
This Alaskan teen had quite the surprise when he happened to find a message in a bottle trapped under some ice near his home that appeared to be several decades old. He posted it online for all of his friends and followers to see. The note was written in another language, Russian. So he asked his network to chime in if they had any idea where the note originated or what it was about.
As it turns out, the message had been written all the way back in the Cold War. It came from a Russian sailor, who wrote to anyone that found the note to please get in touch with them and let them know where it had been found.
A Box Full of Jewels
Treasure chests buried in mysterious places just seem like part of fictional stories and movies that we see about pirates. But as they say, art imitates life, and those stories are actually based on truth. Not many of the discoveries were found frozen, however. In 2013, a mountain climber who’d been exploring Mont Blanc strolled into the local police station and set a box of treasure down on the counter.
As it turns out, the inside contained over $300,000 worth of sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. The treasure is thought to have fallen out of a plane crash in the mid-1960s.
The Initiative
After researchers discovered that it was possible to bring the plant species back to life, they imagined endless possibilities. In fact, some of the world’s greatest minds believe that seeds can save the future of humanity in the case of an extinction-level event.
Bill Gates and his ex-wife are one of many prominent couples who contribute funding to The Norwegian Initiative, which is essentially an enormous bunker with almost 1 million different types of seeds just waiting to be regrown if they actually need to be. The vault is located deep in the Arctic, between Norway and the North Pole.