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Warming causes melting in the active layer, which expands deeper into the permafrost. Meltwater then enters the salty cryopeg through osmosis, causing the expansion of the cryopeg, which cracks the overlying permafrost. When those cracks reach the surface, the rapid decrease in pressure in the cryopeg damages the methane hydrates below and triggers a rapid physical explosion. Images not to scale. (CREDIT: AGU/Madeline Reinsel)
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