The Digester

LSU scientists say clustered pit features on Pluto look like Earth-style gas pockmarks and may mark sites where subsurface gases periodically vent, which could help explain how Pluto sustains its thin but extensive atmosphere.

LSU researchers analyzed 150 clustered pits in Pioneer Terra and found they resemble gas pockmarks on Earth.
The team proposes the pits formed from subsurface gas migration, possibly from methane clathrate hydrates.
Subsurface seepage could help replenish Pluto's nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane atmosphere observed by New Horizons.
The work was led by Ph.D. candidate Roodra Manogaran in collaboration with NASA Goddard researchers and relies on geomorphology and spectral imaging, but confirmation will need more data.

LSU study links Pluto pits to subsurface gas seepage

Sources