They have not yet been baptized, but since they have emerged after being hidden in the glacier, scientists are going to study them and name them.
They have been discovered by the Russian navy, which, at a press conference, confirmed the discovery of five new previously unknown islands in the remote arctic archipelago of Novaya Zemlya.
At a press conference marking the completion of a naval expedition that sailed north to Franz Josef Land, Vice Admiral Alexander Moiseyev of Russia’s Northern Fleet explained that the new islands were discovered by melting glaciers in the zone.
Russia has established a number of military and scientific bases in the Arctic
The islands in question were first seen in 2016 using satellite images from the country’s navy. But they have not been confirmed and mapped until the expedition to the site in August and September, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“ We think they were part of the main glacier called Vylki , also known as Nansen. Melting, collapse and changes in temperature caused these islands to be discovered,” continued Minister Sergei Shoigu.
On the new expedition, naval researchers examined the topography of the five islands . In size, the islands vary from very small to very large. Two are really small (the smallest is only 30 meters by 30 meters), but the largest is quite large, covering a region of about 54,500 square meters.
A student named Marina Migunova was the first to spot the five islands in 2016. In the years after their discovery, the researchers photographed and surveyed the islands before the expedition left to visit the islands live.
The expedition included scientists and documentary filmmakers from the Russian Geographical Society and the Russian Arctic National Park, according to the Defense Ministry. In addition to visiting the Novaya Zemlya, the crew also visited Franz Josef Land, conducting research and examining the ocean and land.
During the expedition, the crew also determined the maximum depth of the Barents Sea, which was found to be 632 meters.
It is not a coincidence
Scientists warn that the emerging islands are not flukes, but the direct result of the growing climate crisis as the Arctic undergoes massive melting of glaciers and sea ice. And it is that the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the world average, and the resulting glacial melt could destroy the life cycle there awake and threaten the lives of people around the globe.
As for the long-term stability of these newly discovered landmasses, it is too early to say, as receding glaciers are known to destabilize the land below them, as they lose a fortifying ice sheet in the upper part.
Between 2015 and 2019, the greatest loss of glaciers was recorded in the Arctic than in any other five-year period on record , according to the United Nations report on global warming released last month.
Meanwhile, according to the Russian Geographical Society, between 2015-2018, more than 30 new islands, headlands and bays were discovered in the region as the ice melted.
According to the Russian navy, these new islands are not alone; they join a list of at least a dozen new islands that have emerged in the Arctic region in recent years.
In light of how things are in the world, we shouldn’t be surprised , scientists say.
If glaciers continue to melt at this rate, rising sea levels could displace up to a fifth of the world’s population by 2100. Entire island nations like the Maldives could also disappear underwater, millions of people could face the food and drinking water shortages, pollution and disease.
Reference: Russian Defense Ministry https://function.mil.ru/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12258084@egNews
