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  • Writer's pictureQuentin

Point Nemo: 8 Interesting Facts



I- Here is all the information you need to know about Point Nemo, the world's most isolated point, which the Volvo Ocean Race boats will pass on Leg 7. It is thought to be the most difficult site on Earth to reach.


II- Actually, you can't see it. This is due to the fact that "Point" Nemo isn't really a piece of land. The farthest point from land in any direction in the enormous Southern Ocean is an invisible location. The Eurasian Pole in China and the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility in Antarctica, both extremely challenging locations to travel to, are additional poles of inaccessibility.


III- It's quite a distance from other places. To be exact, it's 2,688 kilometers away in each direction. Either on Maher Island in Antarctica, Moto Nui in the Easter Islands, or the Pitcairn Islands. If you must choose, we advise travelling to the Easter Islands because Ducie Island is an uninhabited 2 kilometer long expanse of rock, and Antarctica is, well, Antarctica.


IV- It's only 25 years old as of today. Technically, Point Nemo didn't exist until 1992, or if it did, we weren't aware of it. Hrvoje Lukatela, a Croatian-Canadian survey engineer, discovered it using a geospatial computer software. SPOILER ALERT: He didn't even get there, calculating the precise position using technology. He understood that the most remote ocean point had to be equally spaced from three separate coast lines because the globe was three-dimensional.


V- For scientists, Point Nemo is really exciting. A mystery sound was heard in the 1990s not more than 1,250 miles east of Point Nemo. Oceanographers were agitated by the "bloop" sound, which was louder than a blue whale and sparked rumors that it was produced by an unidentified sea monster. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) finally determined that it was the sound of a massive iceberg breaking and cracking after much concern.


VI- Its name doesn't refer to a fish. It's moniker is a tribute to Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's '20,000 Leagues Under The Sea' – and the Latin translation of ‘Nemo’ actually means ‘no man’, a fitting name for a spot so lonely. The astronauts aboard the space station were closer to the boats as they passed Point Nemo than were other people on Earth.


VII- There are rumors that it is a graveyard for space trash. It's the ideal location to dispose of outdated rockets and satellites because nobody is there. There may be over 100 decommissioned spacecraft in the region.


VIII- Volvo Ocean Race is driving innovative scientific research in the region. Point Nemo isn't visited by anyone —I mean, why would you?— but during the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race, boats will be taking samples as part of a program funded by Volvo Cars called the Science Program. At specified spots around Point Nemo, the boats are releasing drifter buoys that will collect vital data for scientists all across the world. In order to contribute to an ongoing study that intends to give an ocean health snapshot based on samples gathered along the race track, two teams, Turn the Tide on Plastic and team AkzoNobel, are collecting microplastic data.

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