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275:, NGA) during the conversion from physical charts to digital formats, and now used as a standard global coastline data set. Inconsistencies in this data set exist in some of the least explored parts of Earth, due to human digitizing errors and errors in original maps from which the digitizing took place. One of the most commonly used derived products of WVS is the Global Self-consistent, Hierarchical, High-resolution Shoreline Geography Database (
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in 1974 after a flying recognition campaign and by AHS in 1985. The information about the status of the phantom island was passed on to other national hydrographic services around the world, but Sandy Island remained in global coastline and bathymetry compilations used by the scientific community and
371:
was applied to these data sets during pre-processing to differentiate between land and water. Since the World Vector
Shoreline Database (WVS) has become the standard global coastline data set used by the scientific community, errors that existed in WVS propagated into data sets that use a land mask.
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in the area. During the voyage, they noticed a discrepancy between different maps and decided to sail to the supposed location to investigate. The crew found no island; depths recorded were never less than 1,300 metres (4,300 feet). They found that "he ocean floor didn't ever get shallower than 1300
236:
s master reported two unusual features. The first was a series of "heavy breakers", the second some "Sandy Islets", or Sandy Island. Both then appeared in an
Australian maritime directory for 1879. It noted the islets extended north and south "along the meridian 159° 57' E" and "between
216:
charted a "Sandy I." snaking between latitudes 19° and 20° S and longitudes 163°50Ⲡand 164°15ⲠE off the tip of New
Caledonia. The associated map, titled "Chart of Discoveries made in the South Pacific OceanâŚ", was published in 1776. The depiction is part of the existing Grand Terre
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that found that pumice sea rafts associated with that eruption traveled more than 3,000 kilometers (1,900 mi) westward. An analysis of the pumice trajectory revealed that pumice rafts passed within 20 kilometers (12 mi) of the location of Sandy Island, approximately 200 days after the
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Whether the fictitious Sandy Island was intended to be a correction to the position of Cook's islands of the same name is not clear. While at about the same latitudes, Cook's real "Sandy I." was four degrees of longitudeâhundreds of milesâfurther east than the 160° E that became the usual
358:
The status of the purported island also became the subject of discussion on scientific mailing lists, such as GMT-HELP, in late
November 2012. Some scientists were initially skeptical that such an error could exist, since a signature was present in various global terrain data sets, such as the
249:
Hydrographic charts later placed the internationally recognized abbreviation "ED" ("existence doubtful") next to Sandy Island, in recognition of subsequent failures to spot the reported island at the expected location. Seafloor mapping in the area by the
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sailed toward the Coral Sea in
October 2012. The erroneously reported island persisted because it was included in the World Vector Shoreline Database (WVS), a data set originally developed by the U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency (now the
372:
Therefore, rather than providing independent evidence for the existence of an island, the appearance of Sandy Island in bathymetry and satellite imagery data sets originated from spurious digitized geometries derived from the WVS database.
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100 kilometres (55 nautical miles) westwards on the
Bellona Plateau. At the time when the chart was created, it was standard practice for all potential navigation hazards to be listed on such charts as a precaution.
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found pumice rafts to be the mode of transportation, with a predicted path consistent with the 2004 study. Wind and ocean surface currents in the area may combine to funnel pumice rafts through the area between
228:
reported the fictitious island in the year 1876, as was noted on various late-19th-century maps, including an 1881 German map and 1895 British
Admiralty chart. After returning from a voyage in the Pacific, the
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ejected from an underwater volcano) traversing the Sandy Island area in 1876 and mistakenly recorded them as an island. This explanation is supported by a 2004 study of an eruption of a volcano near
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from as early as the late 19th century. It was removed from French hydrographic charts in 1974. The island gained wide media and public attention in
November 2012 when the
410:'s default view, the island area is covered by black pixels, but the program's historical imagery feature displays a satellite image of the southern portion taken by
246:
location of the fictitious Sandy Island on later charts and maps that were drafted after the development of the marine chronometer and accurate longitude reckoning.
184:, an Australian research ship, passed through the area and "undiscovered" it. The island was quickly removed from many maps and data sets, including those of the
540:
326:
258:. Due to a lack of appearance of an island or depths indicating a shallow reef, Sandy Island was removed from the official French hydrographic charts by the
99:
422:, Juan Valdes, said, "full evidence has finally been presented. 'Sandy Island' has now been officially stricken from all National Geographic map products".
272:
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363:, which reported an elevation of 1 metre (3 feet) over the location of Sandy Island. Some data sets derived from satellite imagery indicated that
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254:(AHS) determined a minimum depth for the immediate area around and over the island ranging from 1,488 to 2,353 metres (4,882 to 7,720 feet) below
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20:
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lat 19° 7' S and 19° 20' S". Until the appearance of "Sandy I." in 1876â79, the nearest charted land or reef was the
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reef encasing New
Caledonia, with coordinates of the area generally true to within 20 nautical miles (35 kilometres), despite Cook's use of
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283:(GMT) software. Although it is now an independent data set, an error in the original WVS data would have been present in this data set.
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993:
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455:, also known as Los Buenos Jardines, a group of phantom islands first reported in 1529 off the eastern coast of Papua New Guinea.
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343:, 10th Edition. A discovery of the island's absence was again made on 22 November 2012 by Australian scientists aboard the
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removed the island on its nautical charts in 1974. Public claims that the island did not exist began in April 2000 by
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395:" on a map for the purpose of trapping potential copyright violatorsâwould not have been standard practice with
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were absent in the location, suggesting the presence of land. However, it became apparent that a land
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announced that it was officially striking Sandy Island from its maps. "The
Geographer" at
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One of the earliest appearances of Sandy Island at this location was on late 19th century
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765:"Sandy 'Mary Celeste' Island undiscovered - again: Radio hams beat science by a decade"
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that was charted for over a century as being located near the French territory of
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Chronometers were not regularly supplied to the Royal Navy until about 1825
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939:"Sandy Island (Ăle de Sable or Ăle de Sables): The Island That Never Was"
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Internet mapping service until 26 November 2012, when it was removed. On
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49:
534:"Sandy Island: le mystère de l'Île fantôme dÊvoilÊ depuis dÊjà 33 ans"
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505:"Southern Surveyor 2003-13 | Australia's Marine National Facility"
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on 3 March 2009, showing a darkened sea. On 29 November 2012, the
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Seton, Maria; Williams, Simon; Zahirovic, Sabin (9 April 2013).
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initial eruption. A study of coral migration from Tonga to the
688:"Sandy Island: whaling ship behind land that proved not ahoy"
41:
446:, an Internet meme of a fictional European country in the
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satellite image showing the island's supposed location.
636:"Google's phantom island may have 19th-century roots"
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No Land Ho: Sandy Island and the Age of Un-Discovery
794:"TXĂDX challenges National Geographic (Bulletin 16)"
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88:
33:
964:A full satellite image of the area by DigitalGlobe
479:"South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'"
527:
525:
434:, a phantom island near the Yucatan peninsula.
208:nautical charts; a 1908 edition is shown here.
864:. The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 November 2012
720:Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union
606:Former Clock & Watchmakers and Their Work
317:and New Caledonia on their way to Australia.
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8:
842:
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609:. New York: Spon & Chamberlain. p.
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28:
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662:"The mystery of an island that isn't there"
566:"Sandy Island does exist - on a 1908 chart"
173:. The island was included on many maps and
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850:. University of Sydney. 23 November 2012.
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912:"Scientists un-discover Pacific island"
848:"Scientists un-discover Pacific island"
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361:General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans
273:National GeospatialâIntelligence Agency
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591:David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
21:Great Sandy Island (Western Australia)
16:Non-existent island near New Caledonia
937:Juan JosĂŠ Valdes (29 November 2012).
715:"Obituary: Sandy Island (1876 â2012)"
564:Richard Chirgwin (25 November 2012).
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532:Lecornu, HÊlène (12 December 2012).
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862:"The mystery of the missing island"
819:"The Pacific island that never was"
383:, said that mapping an island as a
969:Sandy Island through nautical maps
660:Shaun Higgins (23 November 2012).
634:Eli MacKinnon (27 November 2012).
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900:(Mailing list). 26 November 2012.
890:(Mailing list). 22 November 2012.
686:Luke Harding (29 November 2012).
603:Britten, Frederick James (1894).
212:On 14â15 September 1774, Captain
402:The island was displayed on the
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377:Australian Hydrographic Service
327:Naval and Oceanographic Service
252:Australian Hydrographic Service
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355:metres below the wave-base".
666:Auckland War Memorial Museum
416:National Geographic Society
325:As noted above, the French
260:French Hydrographic Service
186:National Geographic Society
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359:bathymetric data from the
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263:was still there when the
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994:Islands of New Caledonia
365:sea surface temperatures
340:Times Atlas of the World
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19:Not to be confused with
391:to place a fictitious "
135:(sometimes labelled in
796:. TXĂDX. 10 April 2000
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206:UK Hydrographic Office
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941:. National Geographic
381:Royal Australian Navy
281:Generic Mapping Tools
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742:10.1002/2013eo150001
299:(masses of floating
239:Chesterfield Islands
163:Chesterfield Islands
733:2013EOSTr..94..141S
420:National Geographic
111: /
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918:. 23 November 2012
825:. 22 November 2012
771:. 22 November 2012
485:. 22 November 2012
310:Great Barrier Reef
295:may have observed
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448:Iberian Peninsula
347:Southern Surveyor
333:enthusiasts on a
267:Southern Surveyor
224:The whaling ship
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823:The Guardian
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570:The Register
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453:Los Jardines
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412:DigitalGlobe
408:Google Earth
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141:Ăle de Sable
133:Sandy Island
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35:Ăle de Sable
29:Sandy Island
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945:30 November
922:23 November
868:22 November
829:22 November
800:22 November
775:22 November
693:30 November
671:28 November
645:28 November
575:28 November
489:22 November
444:Listenbourg
404:Google Maps
393:trap street
389:cartography
335:DX-pedition
190:Google Maps
167:Nereus Reef
118: /
94:Coordinates
983:Categories
460:References
214:James Cook
999:Zealandia
916:3 News NZ
751:2324-9250
350:studying
256:sea level
171:Coral Sea
144:, and in
89:Geography
898:GMT-HELP
888:GMT-HELP
640:Fox News
616:8 August
483:BBC News
426:See also
293:Velocity
231:Velocity
226:Velocity
106:159°56â˛E
729:Bibcode
546:13 June
514:29 June
432:Bermeja
196:History
153:) is a
146:Spanish
103:19°13â˛S
50:Landsat
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537:(.doc)
301:pumice
137:French
305:Tonga
277:GSHHG
234:'
947:2012
924:2012
870:2012
831:2012
802:2012
777:2012
747:ISSN
695:2012
673:2012
647:2012
618:2007
589:See
577:2012
548:2013
541:SHOM
516:2018
491:2012
375:The
369:mask
345:R/V
315:Fiji
291:The
188:and
179:R/V
165:and
737:doi
611:230
265:RV
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