“Russian Island in the Arctic Vanishes: School Kids and College Students Make Startling Discovery”
A group of school kids and college students made a startling discovery during an educational project – Mesyatsev Island, a Russian island in the Arctic, has completely vanished. The island, which was once a slab of ice and grit located near the larger Eva-Liv Island in Franz Josef Land, was first noticed to be missing when the students compared satellite images of the area.
According to a 2019 study published in Geosciences, Mesyatsev Island likely broke away from Eva-Liv Island before 1985. In 2010, the island had a surface area of approximately 11.8 million square feet, equivalent to about 20 American Football fields. However, recent satellite images taken on Aug. 12 this year revealed that the island had shrunk to just 323,000 square feet, a decrease of over 99.7% in 14 years. By Sept. 3, newer images showed that the island had completely disappeared.
The disappearance of Mesyatsev Island is believed to be a result of rising temperatures due to human-caused climate change. Alexey Kucheiko, a researcher at the Moscow Aviation Institute, who coordinated the RISKSAT project, stated that “The island has completely melted.”
Over the past decade, Mesyatsev Island had been steadily melting, with the rate of disappearance accelerating. By 2015, the island had reduced to around 5.7 million square feet, less than half its size in 2010. Researchers had stopped monitoring the island by 2022 as they expected it to vanish soon.
The persistence of the island longer than anticipated was surprising to experts. The darkening of the island’s surface in 2021, likely due to a layer of dust, increased the rate of melting. However, the reason for the island’s delayed disappearance remains unclear.
Once an important nesting site for walruses when it was attached to Eva-Liv Island, Mesyatsev Island breaking away forced the animals to find a new breeding ground. Experts speculate that the island may have been left behind by a glacier that once covered Eva-Liv Island.
The disappearance of Mesyatsev Island serves as a stark reminder of the impact of climate change on our planet’s delicate ecosystems. As temperatures continue to rise, more such instances may occur, highlighting the urgent need for action to mitigate the effects of global warming.