Sertsey Iceland

[billeyler]

Yesterday, Danny and I were having IM yak about NW coast volcanoes, and it morphed into both of us remembering the birth of the volcanic island near Iceland in the 60s. Since neither of us had thought of it SINCE then, we looked it up.

We remembered right...the island came about between 1964 and 1967. The island got named Sertsey, now has a huge amount of vegetation and birdlife on it, but seems to be slowly dissolving under the force of winds, waves and settling after the lava cooled. It almost looks large enough to be inhabitable, but if it's dissolving, why bother.

Danny did have an interesting point, though. If a volcanic island were to suddenly appear somewhere that isn't necessarily close to any known land mass, who decides who it 'belongs' to?

Comments

[fuzzygruf.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Callerlab decides.

[bearfuz.livejournal.com]

No, not Callerlab -- Vic Ceder should get to decide. Callerlab will eventually come around.

Even if the island was created by Lee Kopman.

Wait, what were we talking about?

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

If Callerlab has guns and is willing to occupy the island, they can probably have it.

The actual question depends on the international legal status of the waters the island forms in. If they are international waters with no economic or other zone status, then the correct answer is whoever shows up and is willing to defend the island. Otherwise it can be murky; generally the zone owner will claim it, sometimes extending its protected zone thereby, but it's increasingly likely to impinge on another country's claims.

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

Oh, and once the country claim is settled, the country's laws of ownership apply. Some claim ownership for the government, others attach it to nearby land (this is often true for "accreted" land, deposited along a shoreline by rivers or ocean).

[excessor.livejournal.com]

If a volcanic island were to suddenly appear somewhere that isn't necessarily close to any known land mass, who decides who it 'belongs' to?

It belongs to me. So there.

[billeyler.livejournal.com]

Heavens!

(fanning self furiously)

Que Butch!

[excessor.livejournal.com]

Quite.