Investigators probe 'possible ecological catastrophe' in Russia's Kamchatka region

Russian investigators said Saturday they were looking into “a possible ecological catastrophe” in the eastern Kamchatka region, after scores of dead sea creatures washed up in one of it bays and surfers reported burns to their eyes and throats.

Images of dead seals, octopi, starfish and urchins on the Khalaktyrsky Beach in the Avacha Bay have been shared on social media for several days.

Surfers in the area have also complained that the sea had an unnatural smell and color.

Investigators probe 'possible ecological catastrophe' in Russia's Kamchatka region

Anyone who has played Risk knows where the Kamchatka Peninsula is. It is a amazing volcanic land of fire and ice. It's shore is known for it's black volcanic sand and beautiful pristine beaches.

If not for the burns, smell and discolored water that a number of surfers reported. I would think the die-off could be the result of a strong storm.

It is looking like some kind of hazardous material has leaked into the sea somehow. Water and animal samples have been taken for testing and study. I am sure there will be some answers soon, just not so sure we will be able to trust them.

Both of the below videos have auto translate closed captioning, if you go into the settings. It doesn't help a lot. If anyone that speaks Russian can give a brief translation, thanks in advance.

Inaccessible even to Russian citizens until the 1990s, the Kamchatka Peninsula encompasses an area of pristine wilderness larger than the British Isles.

With the highest concentration of active volcanoes of anywhere in the world, this remote region of Far East Russia is a literal hotspot of geothermal activity, earning it the moniker of the ‘land of fire and ice’.

The 1,200km long peninsula is also a haven for wildlife, including Kamchatkan brown bears – there are more bears than people in Kamchatka – sea otters and a variety of seabird species.

Images of Kamchatka

Losing things fast.

Hundreds of thousands of migratory birds found dead in New Mexico, mystifying scientists. ... Dead migratory birds -- which include species such as warblers, bluebirds, sparrows, blackbirds, the western wood pewee and flycatchers -- are also being found in Colorado, Texas and Mexico.Sep 16, 2020

Hundreds of Whales Die in Mass Stranding in Australia
Nearly 500 pilot whales were stranded off the coast of Tasmania last week, in what officials say is the largest mass stranding event in Australian history
www.smithsonianmag.com...

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Thank you for bringing this up. Often these events get buried/ignored in the current news cycle.

Although there have been some recent incidents of catastrophic test failures, I do not believe this particular incident is man made. The scorching to the sea life and presence of foul odor and discoloration in the water seems to point to subsea volcanic activity. This would not be unusual for this area, particular during this period of the planets procession of the equinox. You can expect an uptick in geological activity for the next decade with relatively calm regions showing signs of renewed activity.

Of course it is always sad to see such a loss of sea life, particularly given the violent nature of their death, but the nutrients that are released from these events are the building blocks for these ecosystems in the long term.

AX

a reply to: Alphasan

That's what I was going to say.

What's going on with the volcanic activity here? That region has lots of volcanoes and those systems are remote and I'm not sure how well-monitored they. Certainly the one under the sea would likely not be very well watched.

It's not out of the question that we're seeing something rumbling to life out there, and if it's causing that magnitude of impact, then if it doesn't settle down, the whole planet will regret the eventual outcome.

I thought about it being due to volcanic activity of other natural reasons. The chemical burns that were reported don't seem to fit that. I guess they could be from something produced by nature, like sulfur.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Alphasan

That's what I was going to say.

What's going on with the volcanic activity here? That region has lots of volcanoes and those systems are remote and I'm not sure how well-monitored they. Certainly the one under the sea would likely not be very well watched.

It's not out of the question that we're seeing something rumbling to life out there, and if it's causing that magnitude of impact, then if it doesn't settle down, the whole planet will regret the eventual outcome.

There was a time in history where all of Siberia was on fire.
From: The WIKI, Yes I know, but I'm lazy about these things

The Siberian Traps (Russian: Сибирские траппы, Sibirskiye trappy) is a large region of volcanic rock, known as a large igneous province, in Siberia, Russia. The massive eruptive event that formed the traps is one of the largest known volcanic events in the last 500 million years.

The eruptions continued for roughly two million years and spanned the Permian–Triassic boundary, or P–T boundary, which occurred between 251 to 250 million years ago.

Large volumes of basaltic lava covered a large expanse of Siberia in a flood basalt event. Today, the area is covered by about 7 million km2 (3 million sq mi) of basaltic rock, with a volume of around 4 million km3 (1 million cu mi).

here's the important part:

One of the major questions is whether the Siberian Traps were directly responsible for the Permian–Triassic mass extinction event that occurred 250 million years ago, or if they were themselves caused by some other, larger event, such as an asteroid impact. A recent hypothesis put forward is that the volcanism triggered the growth of Methanosarcina, a microbe that then spewed enormous amounts of methane into Earth's atmosphere, ultimately altering the Earth's carbon cycle based on observations such as a significant increase of inorganic carbon reservoirs in marine environments.

This extinction event, also colloquially called the Great Dying, affected all life on Earth, and is estimated to have killed about 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species living at the time. Some of the disastrous events that impacted the Earth continued to repeat themselves on Earth five to six million years after the initial extinction occurred. Over time a small portion of the life that survived the extinction was able to repopulate and expand starting with low trophic levels (local communities) until the higher trophic levels (large habitats) were able to be re-established. Calculations of sea water temperature from δ18O measurements indicate that at the peak of the extinction, the Earth underwent lethally hot global warming, in which equatorial ocean temperatures exceeded 40 °C (104 °F). It took roughly eight to nine million years for any diverse ecosystem to be re-established; however, new classes of animals were established after the extinction that did not exist beforehand.

DOOOOOOM PORN 2.0

Anyways this could also be from some Cold War thing that Stalin cooked up, but never reported anywhere because of "State Secrets" and now is leaking out and killing things left and right. Perhaps it could be some kind of Lovecraftian Horror thing that was released and feeds off the souls of aquatic creatures, if you're into that sort of thing. I'm going towards the Cold War thing, I bet others are going to say "Climate Change", and yet others will say God or something like that.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

A lot of volcanic gases interact with water to produce acids. Get a concentrated and sustained enough burst and the local area would be overwhelmed.

If you end up with a traps-like event going on under the ocean, then it could possibly produce the types of things you are seeing. Altered chemical composition in the water, burns on the wildlife, mass deaths.

There was such an eruption in Iceland, the Laki eruption, that ended up killing around 50% of the livestock.

For example, the eruption of Laki in 1783-84, which is regarded by many geologists as a small flood basalt eruption, created a lava flow field of about 15 km3 in 8 months (common sizes of modern eruptions are less than 0.1 km3), and released about 120 million tons of sulfur dioxide (about three times the annual industrial output in Europe in 2016), triggering temperature drops in Europe of about 1-3°C. The cooling resulted in bad winters and summers leading to poverty and famine in Europe and the death of thousands of people, while famine and fluoride poisoning of the surface waters in Iceland caused the death of over 50% of the livestock.

If they have such a thing going on under the sea up there, that could cause quite a problem in the local ecology.

a reply to: Guyfriday

Ah-ha I knew that there was a traps event in Russia, but all I could recall was the Deccan traps and they took place in India.

a reply to: ketsuko



Thanks for the links.

Sounds like this could explain it.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

That is a very dense amount of octopi.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

reported as a commercial tanker by a google recommended website. panpacificagency.com...

originally posted by: Antipathy17
a reply to: LookingAtMars

reported as a commercial tanker by a google recommended website. panpacificagency.com...

Thanks for the link.

MOSCOW, Oct 4, 2020, TASS. Poisoning of water in the area of Khalaktyrsky beach in Russia’s Kamchatka region, according to preliminary data, was caused by oil products leak from a commercial tanker, which was eliminated. The ownership of the vessel has not yet been established, a source in the emergency services of the Far East region told TASS on Saturday (Oct 3).

“According to preliminary data, a commercial tanker followed the sea route along the beach with a leak, which was eliminated but led to a spill of oil products containing phenol. The vessel’s ownership has not yet been established, a search is underway,” the source said.

Water near Russian Kamchatka beach poisoned by commercial tanker leak

Phenol and other products have been reported around Khalaktyrsky and three other locations in the Avachinsky Bay area.

ETA - On the conspiracy side. That tanker leak sure killed a lot of wildlife. You would think it would dilute and not kill that much life.

Was it bad timing or is phenol and the other products that deadly?

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Surfers in the area have also complained that the sea had an unnatural smell and color.

i can hear a spicoli type russian suffer now,

in my best broken english russian voice

"dude, water smells like ass, but look at those humongous tasty waves, and funky water color. people on ludes shouldn't be surffin"

I almost went to Kamchatka in college for a Environmental Studies trip, decided not to due to the political climate at the time.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Well....

On 4 June 1997, a Russian Projekt 670 Skat nuclear submarine (NATO designation Charlie class) sank in a harbor on the Kamchatka Peninsula, while being prepared for decommissioning.

However, at the time, a local official reported that the reactor core had already been removed.

Above marine life mass die-off suggests maybe not...
......and after 23 years, what remained of reactor walls may have rusted through, with the result as seen above...




...or it could be a mysterious phenol leak, from an unidentified tanker, with an unknown owner....move along, move along...Nothing to do with Russian Navy...Nyet...Nada....move along...

Man, this is so sad. I hate to see these massive animal die offs, it really does break my heart. Obviously if this is due to something natural there is nothing we can do.
If man made however, it needs to be stopped immediately especially if done knowingly and knowing what it can do to marine ( or any) life. If that is the case any persons involved need to be prosecuted.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

What goes up must come down.
All those toxins from the recent fires could be raining back down into the oceans.
This is concerning, and you're right if it is something human related at fault we certainly won't get an honest answer.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Possible link found.

Rocket fuel dump likely cause of pollution

Basically, it turns out that the Soviets put a landfill site underneath the Kozeslksy volcano in the 70's. This site was used to bury toxic rocket fuels, as well as arsenic and mercury.

Which just goes to show how dumb we are as a species. Bury toxic materials under an active volcano? Sure - what could possibly go wrong?

a reply to: Guyfriday

I bet others are going to say "Climate Change", and yet others will say God or something like that.

It was the flying spaghetti monster! I was there you need to believe me!

Also A UNESCO World heritage site

Volcanoes of Kamchatka
This is one of the most outstanding volcanic regions in the world, with a high density of active volcanoes, a variety of types, and a wide range of related features. The six sites included in the serial designation group together the majority of volcanic features of the Kamchatka peninsula. The interplay of active volcanoes and glaciers forms a dynamic landscape of great beauty. The sites contain great species diversity, including the world's largest known variety of salmonoid fish and exceptional concentrations of sea otter, brown bear and Stellar's sea eagle.

On the bucket list but like Antarctica doubt i'll get there