Up until now, Oodaaq is believed to be the northernmost island on the planet. Oodaaq is some 700 kilometers (435 miles) south of the North Pole.
During an expedition in July, scientists have discovered a new island further north, the world’s ‘northernmost island. This yet-to-be-named island is the northernmost point of Greenland and one of the most northerly points of land on Earth.
At first, scientists thought they had reached Oodaaq. But, in reality, they reached the Northernmost point in the world, which is 780 meters (2,560 feet) north of Oodaaq. It is only 30 to 60 meters above sea level.
Morten Rasch from Copenhagen University’s department of geosciences and natural resource management, head of the mission, said, “We were informed that there had been an error on my GPS, which led us to believe that we were standing on Oodaaq Island.”
“No one knows how long it will remain. In principle, it could disappear as soon as a powerful new storm hits.”
The small island consists of seabed mud as well as moraine.
The team said they would recommend the name of island as “Qeqertaq Avannarleq,” which means “the northernmost island” in Greenlandic.