Qeqertaq Avannarleq () is an unofficial name of what was thought to be a previously uncharted

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

, discovered in August 2021. It is within the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

, off of the northern tip of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

, and consists primarily of seabed mud and moraine, an accumulation of unconsolidated debris left behind by glaciers. One theory as to its creation was that it was formed relatively recently, during a violent storm. In September 2022, Danish researcher René Forsberg, head of

geodynamics Geodynamics is a subfield of geophysics dealing with dynamics of the Earth. It applies physics, chemistry and mathematics to the understanding of how mantle convection leads to plate tectonics and geologic phenomena such as seafloor spreading, mo ...

at the

National Space Institute The National Space Institute was a space advocacy group, the first of its kind, established by Dr. Wernher von Braun to help maintain the public's support for the United States space program. It has since merged, in 1987, with the L5 Society f ...

in Denmark, announced that further research had shown Qeqertaq Avannarleq "unequivocally" is not an island, but the top of a grounded iceberg, covered by a layer of soil, pebbles and mud, likely deposited by from glaciers in the area. This gravel bank has been among the candidates to be recognized as the

northernmost point of land The northernmost point of land on Earth is a contentious issue due to variation of definition. How permanent some of the contenders are makes hard determination difficult, but sets an important threshold. Problematic issues include ice sheets, wat ...

. An undisputed candidate,

Kaffeklubben Island Kaffeklubben Island or Coffee Club Island ( da, Kaffeklubben Ø; kl, Inuit Qeqertaat) is an uninhabited island lying off the northern tip of Greenland. It contains the northernmost undisputed point of land on Earth. Discovery The first rec ...

is classified as permanent, being discovered in 1900 A.D., and being 750 metres (2,460 ft) farther north than

Cape Morris Jesup Cape Morris Jesup ( da, Kap Morris Jesup) is a headland in Peary Land, Greenland. Geography Cape Morris Jesup is the northernmost point of mainland Greenland. It is from the North Pole#Geographic North Pole, geographic North Pole. It is located ...

, the northernmost point of mainland Greenland. All candidates north of Kaffeklubben Island are the matter of dispute. Initially, scientists were out to visit

Oodaaq Oodaaq or Oodap Qeqertaa is a bank of gravel and silt northeast of Greenland that has been considered by some to be the northernmost point of land on Earth, though a number of other places have also been given that title since its discovery. It ...

, a similar formation discovered in the 1970s that also is among those in contention to be the northernmost point of land. (Forsberg's 2022 research said Oodaaq is also the top of a grounded iceberg.) But what they thought, due to a GPS error, was Oodaaq, later turned out to be previously unknown island north-west of Oodaaq. The previously unknown island measures approximately , with a maximum elevation of around . The scientists proposed the unknown island be called "Qeqertaq Avannarleq", Greenlandic for "the northernmost island". The realization that scientist had found a new landmass went as follows: when photographs of a landing on Qeqertaq Avannarleq were posted to social media, a group of hobbyist adventurers known as 'island hunters' prompted further investigation. Morten Rasch of the University of Copenhagen department of geosciences and natural resource management contacted an expert at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). "Together with DTU, we realized that my GPS had erred, leading us to believe that we were on Oodaaq. In fact, we had just discovered a new island further north, a discovery that ever so slightly expands the Kingdom", explained Rasch. The location was confirmed later by the GPS on the helicopter that was used by the group to reach the island. It is likely that Qeqertaq Avannarleq is a "short-lived islet", however, research is still pending. "No one knows how long it will remain. In principle, it could vanish as soon as a powerful new storm hits", Rasch stated. In 2021, Rene Forsberg, head of

at the

in Denmark, said Qeqertaq Avannarleq "meets the criteria of an island", though he noted that "these small islands come and go".

References

{{reflist Uninhabited islands of Greenland Icebergs Phantom islands

See also

References