Meadows are bursting to life in a once-barren tundra in a graphic sign of the warming climate.
Fields of brightly coloured flowers are springing up across the Russian Arctic just over one thousand miles from the North Pole.
The array of poppies, dandelions and daisies along with lush green grasses in these Arctic Edens are more akin to a temperate climate such as Britain’s.
Yet the oases of vegetation seen in these pictures is at latitude of 70 degrees north and the breathtaking array of blooming is growing in soil that, until recently, was hard-bitten permafrost.
The remarkable images were taken on a Tomsk State University trip to the Yamal peninsula just 1,043 miles from the North Pole, say reports.
Traditionally, such landscapes are associated with moss and lichen with herds of reindeer grazing.
At one site checked by scientists, cotton grass was growing at a remote former Soviet military base.
Specifically, senior researcher Sergey Loiko said the flowering Arctic is a feature of so-called ‘Khasyreys’ - dried up tundra lakes.
These have been known as fertile, yet now the speed of their creation is increasing - and the phenomenon is spreading elsewhere thanks to man.
“Normally, Khasyreis form over quite a long time, in decades actually,” said the scientist.
Yet this process far above the Arctic Circle is now speeding up because of permafrost thawing.
Seeds blown by wind or carried by animals are germinating in mineral-rich soil which is no longer frozen as the tundra becomes warmer and greener.
The same is happening close to remote villages where locals have dug through permafrost to obtain sand for building.
Over time disturbed permafrost thawed, enriching soil with minerals from its deep frozen layers.
‘It resulted in mounds covered with carpets of herbs and flowers, with daisies, dandelions, polar poppies, horsetail, several types of wormwood, cereals and even willow growing in Arctic ‘oases’,’ reported The Siberian Times .
An expansion in the varieties of flora is now expected along with the arrival of fauna not seen previously in Arctic regions, say the researchers.
“Permafrost thawing is undesirable because of potential threats to infrastructure,” said Loiko.
Yamal has also seen the formation of spectacular giant craters in recent years, seen by scientists as caused by underground methane eruptions in thawing permafrost.
Now researchers believe these areas can allow an expansion of farming in the extreme north, with cattle grazing in summer and a better food source for reindeer.
