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"Initially, we had no intention of exploring any new islands," said Morten Rasch, a polar explorer and head of the Arctic Station's research base in Greenland. "We were just there to collect specimens for research."
Initially, the scientists thought they had landed on Oodaaq, an island discovered by a Danish survey team in 1978. Only after checking their exact location did they realize they were standing 780 meters northwest of Oodaaq. This island is quite small, only about 30 meters wide and with a maximum height of 3 meters, and consists of sea mud and glacial debris – all common rock formations found on glaciers.
The research team said they would name the island "Qeqertaq Avannarleq," which means "northernmost island" in Greenlandic.
"Everyone was thrilled," shared Swiss entrepreneur Christiane Leister, founder of the Leister Foundation that funded the trip. "Like explorers in history, they thought they were in a place already known, but it was actually a completely new location."
According to scientists, although this small island has only recently emerged from beneath the ice sheet, its appearance is not a direct consequence of global warming. Hopes for territorial expansion in the Arctic depend on whether the newly discovered island or landmass will disappear again, as such places often appear and then disappear after a period of time due to geographical shifts. A true island must remain high above sea level, even at high tide.
Qeqertaq Avannarleq meets the criteria of an island, and it is now recognized as the world's northernmost landmass.
