Tuppiap Qeqertaa (Tobias Island): a newly discovered island off northeast Greenland

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Authors: Bennike, Ole, Mikkelsen, Naja, Forsberg, Rene, Hedenäs, Lars
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2006
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Greenland; Cairn; Tuppiap Qeqertaa; Ice cap; Polar Record
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s003224740600550x; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S003224740600550X

The small island of Tuppiap Qeqertaa, formerly known as Tobias Ø or Tobias Island, is situated 80 km off the northeast Greenland coast. The island was discovered in 1993 and is approximately 2 km long and 1.5 km wide. Most of the island is covered by an ice cap that rises to 35 m above sea level, as determined by airborne laser scanning. High-quality geodetic GPS measurements determine the position of a small cairn erected on the island to 79°20′34.48′′ N, 15°46′31.23′′ W. Minor parts of the island are ice free, with small hills of gravel. Late Holocene shells of marine bivalves have been found and were presumably brought up by ice floe push. Shell fragments of southern extralimital marine invertebrates point to the presence of pre-Holocene deposits. Three species of moss are the only land plants that have been found on the island.