16 December 16:43
On Lake Baikal near Olkhon Island, local guides discovered a patch of ice with a high concentration of methane and showed how the gas ignites upon contact with fire. Footage demonstrating an unusual phenomenon appeared on social networks, writes IrkutskMedia news agency.
They show how a man brings a lighter to the surface of a frozen lake, and a column of fire rises from under the ice. This natural gas is released by bacteria that decompose organic matter at the bottom of Lake Baikal.
In the summer, methane escapes into the atmosphere, but in the winter it accumulates under the ice, seeping through cracks. As the gas bubbles freeze, they form bizarre icy patterns. It is in such places that the concentration of methane becomes high enough for it to ignite.
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