Kolbeinsey eroding more slowly, Coast Guard images show

Kolbeinsey has been eroding more slowly in recent years, according to images taken during a recent Icelandic Coast Guard surveillance flight, mbl.is reported.

The Coast Guard said it has made regular flights over the island in recent years to monitor its erosion. The crew of the surveillance aircraft TF-SIF recently flew over Kolbeinsey and took photographs. The island lies 74 kilometres north of Grímsey.

About 15 years ago, there were fears that Kolbeinsey would disappear entirely by 2020. It still rises above the sea, and appears to have lost less ground recently than in the past, the Coast Guard said. Its bedrock is highly porous, and sea ice erodes it significantly in years when ice surrounds the island.

Kolbeinsey has played an important role in disputes over territorial waters and continental shelf rights. In 1989, the crew of the coast guard vessel Óðinn and employees of the Lighthouse and Harbour Authority built a helicopter pad on the island. It has shrunk considerably since then.

Monitoring will continue, although Kolbeinsey has lost most of its importance since agreements were reached on the median lines between Iceland and Greenland, and between Iceland and Jan Mayen.