A man prepares to dip in the icy waters of the Ob River in Russia's Siberian city of Novosibirsk, with the air temperature at about minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit), during an Orthodox Epiphany celebration, January 19. Orthodox believers mark Epiphany on January 19 by immersing themselves in icy waters regardless of the weather.

In this photo taken Oct. 26, 2010, a tiny chapel is seen on the grounds of the Northeast Science Station near the town of Chersky in Siberia, 4,000 miles east of Moscow, Russia. Scientists are studying methane gas locked inside Siberia's frozen soil and under its lakes. Methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, has been seeping out since the end of the last ice age. But recently, especially in the last five years as the Earth has warmed, the permafrost has thawed more rapidly, accelerating the release of methane and contributing further to climate change.

Fishermen drink and watch a newly married couple kiss on a bank of the Yenisei River in Divnogorsk, a town 24 miles to the south of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, August 13, 2010. Local couples traditionally visit the river bank in Divnogorsk on their wedding day.