The New Siberian Islands, an archipelago that may gradually disappear from the face of the earth, is located in the Arctic Ocean between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea. Scientists believe that the coastline of these islands has been shrinking.
The islands are composed of permafrost alternating with soil, and the global warming of the last few decades has led to the melting of ice and the contraction of firm ground
"The disintegration is caused by the thawing of permafrost, which leads to soil subsidence and landslides. Soil is washed into the sea and the islands are contracting," said Konstantin Zaitsev, Vice President of the Association of Polar Explorers, who headed a 2012 integrated expedition that studied the current state of the New Siberian Islands.