The islet is only 30 by 60 meters and could also disappear again. At the moment it is probably the most northerly piece of land in front of the North Pole.
Copenhagen – For a long time, the island of Oodaaq at the northernmost tip of Greenland was considered to be the closest piece of land to the North Pole. But that may now need to be corrected – at least temporarily.
According to their own account, researchers at the University of Copenhagen have discovered a small island that is even further north, albeit just under 800 meters.
The discovery of the as yet unnamed islet, about 30 by 60 meters in size, was therefore pure coincidence. “We were convinced that the island we were standing on is Oodaaq,” said Research Director Morten Rasch. He had traveled to the north coast of Greenland with a sample collection team. He only found out about his mistake when he posted pictures and coordinates on the Internet. “A number of American island hunters went nuts and said that could not be true,” said the head of the Department of Earth Sciences and Natural Resource Management. Island hunters are people whose hobby is to discover previously unknown islands.
A check of the coordinates revealed that Oodaaq is actually around 800 meters south of the place where Rasch and his team disembarked. “In reality we discovered a new island further north, a find that makes the Kingdom (Denmark) a little bigger,” says Morton.
The scientist warned that the newly discovered island might not last long. It consists mainly of small accumulations of mud and gravel – probably the result of a storm. “Nobody knows how long she will be here. In principle, it could disappear as soon as another powerful storm comes, ”said Rasch. dpa
