A collective of researchers from Germany, aboard the icebreaker Polarstern operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), were conducting studies in Antarctica when they unexpectedly stumbled upon a previously unidentified island situated near Joinville Island. This finding was originally reported by the Daily Mail and subsequently translated by aif.ru.
According to Simon Dröter, an expert in subsea cartography at AWI, the team initially spotted what appeared to be a “dirty iceberg” in the distance. Upon closer inspection, they conjectured it might be a rock formation. As they advanced to within 150 meters, they confirmed their discovery: a new island.
Nevertheless, this landmass is currently shrouded in numerous mysteries awaiting resolution.
“Our planned route indicated an area on the nautical charts marked with uninvestigated navigational hazards, but the exact nature of this zone and the origin of that data were unclear,” Dröter elaborated.
Deploying a drone, the scientists were able to survey the island from above and confirmed its surprisingly substantial size: it measures 130 meters in length, 50 meters in width, and rises approximately 16 meters above the water surface. This length is comparable to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Experts are currently puzzled as to why the navigational charts label the location as a danger zone while other sources depict it as a coastline.
“The island was difficult to distinguish from the multitude of icebergs drifting nearby in the satellite imagery we analyzed, owing to its icy covering,” Dröter emphasized.
He further noted that the island has not yet been officially charted; this process can only commence once a formal name has been assigned to it.
Previously, reports emerged from the United States expressing alarm over an increasing number of fatalities attributed to so-called phantom wolves.
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