By Mohd. Omar Malik
Copenhagen, Aug 28: A group of researchers have found the world’s northernmost island off the north coast of Greenland.
How it was found is also an interesting story. A group of scientists on an expedition to collect samples from the Arctic came upon a landmass and an error in their GPS led them to the initial thought that this was Oodaaq, the northernmost island before the yet-to-be-named island was discovered. In reality, they had discovered a much smaller island further north than Oodaaq island. This discovery slightly expands the Kingdom of Denmark. The researchers did not intend to make any new discoveries. There had been several attempts made earlier to find the world’s northernmost island but none of them had been successful.
Oodaaq is around 435 miles south of The North Pole, while the new island is 2650 feet north of Oodaaq. The yet-to-be-named island is approximately 30 metres long with a peak of about 3 metres. However, the island is only 30 to 60 metres above sea level and there are many concerns that this islet could be short-lived and may soon disappear. This is majorly due to climate change and the rapid rise in sea level because of the melting glaciers.
