Explorers uncover unknown Antarctic island labeled as ‘hazard zone’ on maps

Researchers just lately found {that a} long-misidentified Antarctic “danger zone” was truly an island — and have now mapped it for the primary time.

The discovery was announced in an April press launch from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), a German polar analysis heart based mostly in Bremerhaven.

The island is positioned within the northwestern Weddell Sea, and was noticed throughout an expedition aboard the AWI’s icebreaker Polarstern.

Researchers had been initially learning the fast decline of sea ice within the area when harsh climate pressured them to pause.

They took shelter on Joinville Island to keep away from the wind and waves — the place they later noticed the beforehand unidentified island.

“On our route, the nautical chart showed an area with unexplored dangers to navigation, but it wasn’t clear what it was or where the information came from,” Simon Dreutter, a bathymetry knowledge engineer at AWI, mentioned in an announcement.

After inspecting the obtainable shoreline information, Dreutter regarded out the window and noticed “an ‘iceberg’ that looked kind of dirty.”

He recalled that “on closer inspection, we realized that it was probably rock.”

“We then changed course and headed in that direction, and it became increasingly clear that we had an island in front of us!”

Researchers approached and circumnavigated the island, surveying the seabed with an echo sounder and drone imaging — marking the primary time the area had been surveyed and recorded.

The island is roughly 426 ft lengthy and about 164 ft huge.

Officials say it “protrudes about 16 meters (52 feet) out of the water.”

Officials are nonetheless unclear why the island was marked as a hazard zone — noting it resembles surrounding icebergs from an aerial view.

The motive could also be tied to the variety of uncharted shoals on the seafloor, mentioned a consultant from the institute.

The official, who spoke on behalf of the analysis crew, informed Fox News Digital the world seems to have “hummocky mounds in which water depths can change abruptly over very short distances.”

“Most areas are modeled from satellite data in low resolution,” the AWI consultant mentioned.

“Therefore, many areas, especially inshore and nearshore, can be considered white spots or gaps in the map. In consequence, also nautical charts only have a patchy data coverage.”

Since the island has not but been formally named, it should now undergo the formal naming course of, with a proposal being submitted to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) for consideration.

The age of exploration could appear over, however officers say lower than 1 / 4 of the Weddell Sea is totally charted — and there’s lots extra to search out.

“Since satellite observation, even in the remote areas of Antarctica, the discovery of an island is a rare and exciting event,” the spokesperson mentioned. 

“But with only about a quarter of the Antarctic water charted, there is still a good scope for discovering landforms on the seabed.”