Further north there is only the North Pole, which has no land, so it will be called Qeqertaq Avannarleq, which means 'the northernmost island'
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himFurther north there is only the North Pole, so it will be called Qeqertaq Avannarleq, which means 'the northernmost island', the piece of land found by chance off Greenland by a group of Danish and Swiss researchers. Then the "record" of Oodaaq, known since 1978 as the northernmost island, was broken.
In July, scientists traveled off Greenland for scientific investigations on what they thought was the island of Oodaaq, known since 1978 as the northernmost island on the planet. But, when they checked their location with the Danish official in charge of registering the Arctic islands, they were 800 meters further north. They were therefore elsewhere. And further north.
Discovered therefore in a completely random way (as often happens in science), the island has small dimensions, equal to 60x30m, but, being a land in all respects and the closest to the North Pole, it has the real right to be called Qeqertaq Avannarleq, which means precisely 'the northernmost island'.
Greenland is a vast autonomous Arctic territory that still belongs to Denmark, with a very particular history and a very painful past, which returned to the headlines in 2019, when former US President Donald Trump suggested the possibility that the US could buy it.
Read also: Denmark apologizes to Inuit children taken away from Greenland for a social experiment in the 50s
However, the Swiss-Danish expedition had entirely scientific purposes, with the aim of sampling Oodaaq to look for new species capable of adapting in a very extreme environment.
We were six people on a small helicopter - Morten Rasch of the Arctic Station in Greenland (University of Copenhagen), who led the search, tells the BBC - and, when we reached the location of the island of Oodaaq, we could not find it.
The maps in that area, in fact, are not very accurate. And, just as Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin following a mistake, so this group of researchers found themselves by chance on completely unknown territory until now.
After a very exciting few minutes - continues Rasch - we landed on a strange pile of mud, moraine deposits and gravel, surrounded by sea ice on all sides, not a very friendly place. After the expedition and many discussions with the specialists on the subject, we realized that we had discovered thenorthernmost island in the world.
It may not have the same impact as penicillin, but the discovery of a hitherto unknown territory remains a step forward towards the knowledge of our planet.
And who knows that this 60x30m islet doesn't have much to tell us.
Sources of reference: BBC / Ansa
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