Schmitt's Island

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Schmitt's Island / 83-42
Waters Arctic Ocean
Geographical location 83 ° 42 '5.2 "  N , 30 ° 38' 49.2"  W Coordinates: 83 ° 42 '5.2 "  N , 30 ° 38' 49.2"  W.
Schmitt's Island (Arctic)
Schmitt's Island
length 45 m
width 20 m
Highest elevation 4  m
Residents uninhabited

Schmitt's Island , also known as 83-42 , is a tiny island in the Arctic Ocean . It is possibly the northernmost land area on earth.

location and size

83-42 is located at a latitude of 83 ° 42 'N . It is located about 25.9 kilometers east of Cape Morris Jesup , the northernmost point of the island of Greenland and about 10.7 kilometers west of Kaffeklubben Island . The tiny island is a little less than 45 meters long, around 20 meters wide and at its highest point around four meters high. 83-42 is 700.4 km from the North Pole.

Discovery and naming

The island was discovered on July 6, 2003 by an American expedition. This expedition was led by Dennis Schmitt and Frank Landsberger. Based on the latitude, the expedition members gave the discovered site the unofficial designation 83-42 . The island is also called Schmitt's Island .

Recognition as land area

In order to be recognized as a land area, it is necessary that the area concerned rises out of the water permanently, i.e. also during high tide. Given its very small size, it is doubtful whether the 83-42 has this property.

According to its discoverers, Schmitt's Island ( 83-42 ) consists of rocks and rubble, i.e. of relatively solid material, and is not just a fleeting sand and gravel bank . The height of about four meters above the water surface could also indicate that 83-42 is a permanent island , given the weak tidal effect in the Arctic Ocean . However, because confirmation of this is still missing, it is (as of November 2007) not recognized as a land area.

Recognition as the northernmost land area and island on earth

Until November 2007, the island ATOW1996, discovered in 1996, was considered the northernmost land area on earth. If Schmitt's Island (83-42) is granted land area status, it is the northernmost land area on earth as it is 2.8 kilometers closer to the North Pole than ATOW1996 .

Since the classification of a land area as an island does not depend on the size of the land area, 83-42 would also be the northernmost island on earth if it were recognized as a land area.

In most geographic books, the Kaffeklubben Island is still given as the northernmost land point, since - contrary to the scientific definition - tiny islands like ATOW1996 or 83-42 are often not regarded as "real" islands .

In addition to ATOW1996 and 83-42 , the island RTOW2001 also competes for recognition as the northernmost land area . Although RTOW2001 is 960 meters closer to the North Pole than ATOW1996 , it is currently (as of August 2007) not recognized as a permanent land area. In addition, RTOW2001 is about 1.8 kilometers further from the North Pole than 83-42 and would therefore not be considered as the northernmost land area in the event that 83-42 is recognized as land area.

In the program of the German TV station NDR , a contribution was broadcast on January 3, 2009, according to which the land point from 2003 could no longer be found, but a new land point ( Ultima Thule 2008 ) at 83 ° 41 ′  N , 31 ° 6 ′  W has been discovered.

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Footnotes

  1. ↑ The web page to which the link refers contains maps that refer to 82-43 as Schmitt's Island . The islands RTOW2001 , ATOW1996 , Oodaaq and the Kaffeklubben Island are also marked there. It should be noted, however, that the representation of the positions is sometimes very imprecise. In particular, Kaffeklubben Island is about 10 kilometers further east (at 29 ° 50 'N and 83 ° 40' W) than indicated on the map. There is no further information about the island KMS1997 , which is also shown on this map .