In 2005, Peter Skafte, Allen DeForrest and Paul Lommen began a search for Ultima Thule with high resolution satellite images. Two sets of images were collected at the beginning of August, 2005 and 2006. Several new islands are clearly visible in these images. One of these islands is a mile north of the 2003 Island , and may prove to be the Ultima Thule. Another island is 65 meters in diameter and may have some vegetation and a few nesting birds. Many other islands are just suggested by the satellite images and require an on site verification.
The upcoming 2007 International Pearyland Expedition will attempt to reach the new northernmost point of land on the earth. A study will be conducted on all the new islands, using sonar equipment, to answer questions about their origin. If this expedition is successful, it may settle, once and for all, one of the oldest geographical mysteries, the holy grail of so many arctic explorers, the location of the Ultima Thule.
 |
With the mainland far off in the background we navigate the ice shelf and it's many melt pools to reach the islands.
Click to Enlarge |
The new islands discovered since 1978 are located in multi year ice, extending from the coast near Bliss Bay , six miles into the Arctic Ocean . During July a few large holes develop in the ice where muddy water rises from the sea bottom and discolor the surrounding ice. Perhaps the ocean in this area is extremely shallow and the ice is resting on the bottom. Some geologists believe that the northernmost islands are the summits of end moraines rising above sea level. Others believe that the islands are the result of movements in the ice that bulldozes the sea bottom into mounds. However, neither Kaffeklubben Island nor any of the newly discovered islands show any signs of having been bulldozed by ice.
During the brief arctic summer the snow drifts on the ice begin to soften and melt. The larger snow drifts will partially melt and freeze into hard sheets of ice. The low lying islands north of Kaffeklubben can appear or disappear from year to year as the pattern of the snowdrifts change. Some of them can also become flooded by water dammed up between snow drifts. Such an island could disappear under the ice after the first freeze.
The effect of global warming is dramatic in the
high arctic. The coastal multi-year ice in this area appears
to have become thinner between 1996 and 2006. This conclusion
is based upon seeing more thaw holes and dirty ice exposed each
summer. The rate with which the ice is melting is also affected
by the presence of wind blown dust. While searching for a northernmost
island in 1996 and 2003, the expedition members noticed that
the bottom of the melt-water pools were perforated with holes
several inches wide and sometimes 10 inches deep. Each hole had
a dark substance in the bottom that absorbed the sunlight and
enhanced the melt rate.
| The
melt-water pools are honey combed on the bottom. Dust
can contribute to the rate with witch the ice melts.
Click to Enlarge |
|
It is possible that the northernmost island observed on our 2006 satellite images are just now becoming visible due to global warming. Since the island is located on the dividing line between multi-year ice and sea ice that breaks up each summer, we do not expect to find islands farther north.
|
