Scientists have discovered a new island off the coast of Greenland, which they say is the northernmost point of the earth in the world and was discovered by the displacement of ice.
"It was not our intention to discover a new island," said Morten Rasch, polar explorer and head of Arctic station research facility in Greenland. "We just went there to collect samples."
Scientists initially thought they had arrived in Oodaaq, an island discovered by a Danish team in 1978. Only later, when checking the exact location, did they realize they had visited another island 780 meters northwest.
The small island, measuring approximately 30 meters, consists of sea mud as well as rocks left behind by moving glaciers. The team said they would recommend calling it "Qeqertaq Avannarleq", which means "northernmost island" in Greenlandic.
Several American expeditions have searched in recent decades for the world’s northernmost island.
"It meets the criteria of an island," said Rene Forsberg, professor and head of geodynamics at the National Space Institute in Denmark. "This is currently the most northerly land in the world." Although he warned: "These little islands come and go."
Burimet: Guardian, Reuters
