Explained: Island discovered off Greenland is the new speck on the world map

What is the news?

Recently, a new island has been discovered off the coast of Greenland.

About the island

The newly discovered island measures 60×30 metres. It is three metres above sea level and has now become the new northernmost piece of land on Earth. Before this, Oodaaq was marked as the Earth’s northernmost terrain.

Researchers suggested naming the new island as ‘Qeqertaq Avannarleq’, which is Greenlandic for “the northernmost island”.

What is the composition?

It is made up of seabed mud and moraine, i.e. soil, rock and other material. It has no vegetation.

Is it the result of Global warming?

Global warming has had a severe effect on the ice sheet of Greenland. The new island, which was exposed by a shifting pack of ice, is, however, not a direct consequence of climate change.

What does this discovery imply?

This becomes important as there is a tussle going on among Arctic nations, the US, Russia, Canada, Denmark and Norway for the control of the North Pole and of the surrounding seabed, fishing rights and shipping routes exposed by melting ice due to climate change.

Source: This post is based on the article “Explained: Island discovered off Greenland is the new speck on the world map” published in the Indian Express on 9^th September 2021.