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Discovery of 'Qeqertaq Avannarleq'

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Geography
  • Published
    11th Sep, 2021

Context

A team of Arctic researchers from Denmark discovered an uncharted island they say is the northernmost island in the world.

About the new Island

  • The tiny island off the coast of Greeland is a bit smaller than an American football field at 98 feet wide by 197 feet wide, and rises 10 to 13 feet above sea level.
  • It measures 60×30 meters and has a peak three meters above sea level. It is now the northernmost place on the planet. Previously, the title was held by Oodaq. However, it is located 780 meters northwest of Oodaq.
  • At first, the expedition team thought they had reached Oodaaq.
    • Oodaaq is an island consisting of mostly gravel and silt, that was discovered in 1978 by a Danish survey team.
  • Scientists suggested naming the new island "Qeqertaq Avannarleq," which means "the northernmost island" in Greenlandic.
  • The yet-to-be-named island consists of small mounds of seabed mud and moraine—a mixture of soils and rocks left behind by glaciers. 
  • Islands such as this form when ice collides with the sea bottom.

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