Scientists aboard the German research vessel Polarstern have discovered a previously uncharted island in Antarctica after mistaking it for a dirty iceberg drifting through the Weddell Sea.
The rocky outcrop, which had never been formally recorded on nautical charts, was found during an expedition led by the Alfred Wegener Institute while the team was navigating through one of the most hazardous stretches of water near the Antarctic Peninsula.
According to Gizmodo, the newly identified island lies in the northwestern Weddell Sea, near the so-called Danger Islands region, an area long known for heavy ice, submerged hazards, and difficult navigation.
Researchers said the island had previously appeared on charts only as an undefined “danger zone,” and even then, its location was listed roughly a nautical mile from where it actually sits. The island is small—about 427 feet long and 164 feet wide, roughly the size of the White House grounds—but rises about 52 feet above sea level.
The discovery came after severe weather forced the 93-person expedition to seek shelter behind Joinville Island, near the treacherous Danger Islands. Scientists had been studying the flow of ice and meltwater from the Larsen Ice Shelf when geophysicist Simon Dreutter became curious about an unexplained warning area on the ship’s charts.
The Danger Islands themselves have become increasingly important in recent years because they host one of Antarctica’s largest colonies of Adélie penguins, even as they remain notoriously difficult for ships to navigate.
“The nautical chart showed an area with unexplored dangers to navigation, but it wasn’t clear what it was,” Dreutter said. After reviewing bathymetric data and scanning the horizon from the bridge, he noticed what looked like “an ‘iceberg’ that looked kind of dirty.”
As the ship moved closer, the team realized the formation was actually exposed rock. “It became increasingly clear that we had an island in front of us,” he said.
Once the crew confirmed the discovery, the Polarstern circled the island from about 150 meters away while researchers mapped the surrounding seafloor using sonar. A drone was also launched overhead to capture aerial images and create a 3D model of the coastline.
The island has now been fully surveyed, and its coordinates will be added to international nautical charts and the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean. As of this writing, the island still does not have an official name.
