6
$\begingroup$

I noticed on World Weather Map over the last 2 days Russia has had an isolated circular warm spot which seems very uniform and hasn't changed for at least 2 days: see here and in below image.

Any ideas if this is a technical error or else some natural or man made phenomenon?

enter image description here

EDIT: for clarity i am referring to this spot: enter image description here

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
9
  • $\begingroup$ I would look at a detailed map of Russia and see if there is a known nuclear power plant or a nuclear waste facility within that circle of interest. $\endgroup$
    – user23275
    Commented Dec 26, 2022 at 21:17
  • $\begingroup$ It would be nice to have co-ordinates for the "spot of interest". I know it's near Yakustk, but were exactly where would be good to know. My initial suspicions are that it might be related to a large open pit mine, something like Mirny (Мирный) or Udachnyi (Удачный). I started writing an answer about this, but deleted it. $\endgroup$
    – Fred
    Commented Dec 27, 2022 at 0:27
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I would suspect it's an outlier; a single weather station reporting an erroneous measurement (possibly even on purpose) and interpolation doing the rest. Is "World Weather Map" open about the data and methods going into the production of this map? $\endgroup$
    – gerrit ♦
    Commented Dec 27, 2022 at 9:22
  • $\begingroup$ @Fred clicking on the map add the coordinates of that point to the URL. when i click on the point which seems warmest based on the hover text i get this: lat=65.58572002329473 lng=117.02636718750001. does this help? $\endgroup$
    – bobfossil
    Commented Dec 27, 2022 at 22:18
  • $\begingroup$ i looked nearby and found Udachnaya! $\endgroup$
    – bobfossil
    Commented Dec 27, 2022 at 22:22

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
4
$\begingroup$

Interestingly, there is a pressure anomaly that corresponds with the temperature anomaly. The pressure of the spot is about 30 hPa lower that the surrounding region indicating a localized low pressure cell, suggesting that something on the surface is heating the atmosphere sufficiently to cause this.

By taking co-ordinates around the edge of the spot, east-west and north and south, and doing a bit of math, the average diameter of the spot is 215 km.

Taking the co-ordinates from your comment (65.5857 N, 117.02636 E) and looking at Google Earth, there is an Alrosa diamond mine at co-ordinates 65° 01’ 11” N, 117° 05’ 04” E (65.01972 N, 117.08444 E) that Google Earth does not list the name of.

enter image description here

Given the isolated nature of this mine my speculation is this mine is associated with the anomalous spot you noticed.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ This mine is already closed. Alrosa Web Page , so that anomaly shall be constant during the time, as mine stopped its production on 2015. It is Udachny Diamon Mine and Google Earth shows it, but in russian. $\endgroup$
    – David García Bodego
    Commented Dec 19, 2023 at 4:40
  • $\begingroup$ Notice, that the structure by itself cannot explain the ring of the warmer air around it. I propose the addition to your answer. Imagine an instant picture of some puff of hot air that is emitted as a ring from the center. The ring already grew to several kilometers in diameter, its excessive temperature lowered to several degrees, and the center is already cold. Such instant picture can be easily taken by a satellite infrared camera. Such puff can be produced by the open mine. For example, an explosion. $\endgroup$
    – Gangnus
    Commented Jan 19 at 13:12
3
$\begingroup$

Personally, I believe it to be an interpolation artifact. I have been looking at the land surface temperature (LST) from multiple satellites that have a resolution of 1km and there is nothing that I can see in that area.

Here is an example from MODIS Terra satellite MODIS LST Source MODIS

You can explore all their data directly from the NASA Earth Observations site and you can play with the data there.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
-1
$\begingroup$

The diamond mine suggest by this accepted answer looks way too small.

Checkout Ozero Eyik instead.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
4
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. $\endgroup$
    – Community Bot
    Commented Jan 10, 2023 at 20:44
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Yes, please give more detail about why it seems too small (perhaps measure the distance in maps?), and how the Eyik could be a better explanation (and an idea of what Eyik is, as most reading will have no idea!) $\endgroup$
    – JeopardyTempest
    Commented Jan 10, 2023 at 21:29
  • $\begingroup$ Oxero is in the wrong place on the map $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Dec 16, 2023 at 23:26
  • $\begingroup$ Imagine an instant picture of some puff of hot air that is emitted as a ring from the center. The ring already grew to several kilometers in diameter, its excessive temperature lowered to several degrees, and the center is already cold. Such instant picture can be easily taken by a satellite infrared camera. Such puff can be produced by a centered artificial structure. $\endgroup$
    – Gangnus
    Commented Jan 19 at 13:09

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.