Uncovering Earth's Hidden Treasure: Scientists Make Startling Discovery.
Arctic explorers have discovered a mud volcano in the Barents Sea, south of Norway's Bear Island, which is spewing out mud and methane from deep below the Earth's crust. The volcano is likely the result of a catastrophic, natural blowout that suddenly released massive methane shortly after the last Ice Age. Mud volcanoes serve as direct windows into the Earth's interior and offer clues about previous environments that have existed on Earth. The discovery has been named the Borealis Mud Volcano and is a unique refuge from human impacts.