The Arctic Circle is the line above which
you get midnight sun at least one day a year. And also where you get one day where the sun
doesn't peek above the horizon at all. But despite its reputation
for being cold and northern, Iceland is not above the Arctic Circle. Well, most of it isn't. There is one part of a tiny island called Grímsey,
north of Akureyri, which is where I am now. Grímsey is home to fewer than a hundred people
and way more than a hundred puffins. And it's a good story. I was going to travel there, I was going to see the monument they built
at the Arctic Circle line. But because the earth wobbles on its axis,
the Arctic Circle is moving north. So there's now a new monument: an eight-tonne
spherical stone boulder that they can move every year
as the line moves. In about fifty years, they'll probably have
to move it into the ocean, because the Arctic Circle will have left the
island of Grímsey for a few millennia. And Iceland, so my story went, will no longer
have any territory above the Arctic Circle. Decent story, right? But then I found that there's another bit
of Iceland above the Arctic Circle, another 60km or so further north. A small, uninhabitable bit of rock called
Kolbeinsey. And that's the sort of technicality I have
to pay attention to, if I don't want several hundred emails
pointing out that I'm wrong. And so, the story about Grimsey sort of fell
apart, it didn't work any more. Except, there's one line on the Wikipedia article
about that small, uninhabitable bit of rock. "It is subject to rapid wave erosion, "and is expected to disappear
in the near future, "probably around the year 2020." The trouble is, there's no way for a tourist
to get out to Kolbeinsey. It's just a tiny bit of rock. To see if it's still there, you'd have to
charter a plane. So I chartered a plane! We're flying out, right now, to the co-ordinates
of where Kolbeinsey might be. Or might not be. Here's what I know: in the 17th century,
Kolbeinsey was about 700m by 100m, and about 100m tall. It was the massive remnant of
an old volcanic eruption. But it's been steadily, constantly eroded by the ocean, by freeze/thaw cycles,
and by sea ice in winter. By 1986, it was only about 40m by 40m, and it only reached about 5m above the waves. Iceland built a helipad on there to try to
stop it eroding, but in 2006 the Coast Guard here reported
that the helipad had collapsed. Iceland isn't reinforcing Kolbeinsey any more:
they seem to have abandoned it to the waves. And it might not seem like that matters. But tiny places like that can make a difference, because countries' territorial limits and
exclusive fishing areas are sometimes decided by rocks like that. In the mid-20th century, the UK and Iceland had what the British media dramatically called
the "Cod Wars", disputes about fishing rights near Iceland. And by the way, Iceland won.
The UK conceded. Now, Kolbeinsey is mentioned in legal documents
about Iceland's territorial limits, but I'm also not really sure whether it matters. To work out what's going to happen when it
disappears, you'd need an expert in international maritime
law and, frankly, a psychic, because the answer likely is: it gets settled by negotiations between governments, not by some rando in a plane going "hey, your
island isn't there any more!" But it does feel a bit provocative for me,
as a British person, to be checking up on whether Iceland's rock
is still there. All right. We are approaching the co-ordinates. We are flying only 500 feet above the waves,
that's about 150m. It's low tide. The weather is clear. If there was ever a chance to see if Kolbeinsey
is still there, this is it. I think I can see it! I'm pretty sure that's it up ahead. Oh, man, there's barely anything. That used to be an island 700m by 100m, and
that's all that's left. And yes, it's eroded away, but it looks like
predictions were a little bit pessimistic. There's two little islands still poking above
the water. Importantly, it is still there, at low tide it is still above the waves. Iceland, your island is still there. You're welcome! This video was inspired by some tweets from
Sam Hughes, a brilliant science fiction author. I recommend his books Ra and Fine Structure, he's also responsible for the Antimemetics
Division stories over on the SCP Wiki. I've linked to his work in the description. Sam, thank you very much.
"To see if it's still there, you'd have to charter a plane!"
"So I chartered a plane!"
This mad lad. Can't get enough of his videos.
When Kolbeinsey finally disappears: ISLAND -------> ISNOTLAND
One of my Icelandic regrets was not getting up there to see the Arctic Circle ball. Just wasn't in the budget, but would have been really cool to actually cross the line.
As an aside, I have a very, very difficult time pronouncing the city Akureyri. It just about turns my mouth into mush. Aku-ray-ree. I think I'm getting better as I repeat it right now but it's still tough.
Tom Scott plugging the Antimemetics division series in a video. 2020 really is the most unusual year.
TLDW: It is still there, Kinda.
From the wikipedia page of Kolbeinsey:
At what point does it no longer count? If it reveals itself once in a blue moon for a spring tide does that still count?
On his disclaimer about safety:
Jesus, I get that he used to travel a lot before covid, which probably took up a good chunk of his budget (even with Youtube money) and he probably didn't use the space often, but that must have been a few months of hell.
Iceland is the most beautiful country, in regards to nature, I’ve ever been to. It should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Are there any chances of sea level rise chaging countries borders? I was thinking in terms of geopolitics will some nations or corporations take advantage of the new coastlines to change the economic zones and stuff? Will the levels change enough to allow this to happen?