AWI Maps 426-Foot Antarctic Island After Mistaken Weddell Sea Danger Zone

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 24

AWI researchers confirmed and mapped a previously unidentified Antarctic island in the northwestern Weddell Sea, finding a rocky outcrop about 426 feet long, 164 feet wide and 52 feet above the water.
Harsh weather pushed the Polarstern expedition to shelter near Joinville Island, where scientists investigating sea-ice decline noticed what first looked like a dirty iceberg and then diverted to inspect it.
Drone imaging and echo sounding let the team circumnavigate the island, survey the seabed and record the area for the first time, while also showing why charts may have long flagged it only as an unexplored navigation hazard.
AWI said less than a quarter of the Weddell Sea is fully charted, with low-resolution satellite models leaving major nearshore gaps; the unnamed island will now enter SCAR's formal naming process.

Who gets to name Earth's last undiscovered places, and what will this new Antarctic island be called?

With 75% of its waters uncharted, how many more 'ghost islands' are hiding in plain sight around Antarctica?

As melting ice reveals new Antarctic islands, what other long-hidden secrets will climate change uncover next?