Two teenagers from Moscow Region have become groundbreakers after their newly-discovered island in the Arctic was confirmed by the navy hydrographic service. The islands were pinpointed using satellite imagery.

An extracurricular project studying satellite photographs of glaciers led to quite a discovery for Valeria Sayenko, 15, and Artyom Makarenko, 14. The teenagers were watching the ice masses shrink near the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, when they became curious and looked more closely.

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Valeria and Artyom spotted a potential island where there was once a solid glacier that had split into two parts. “We were overwhelmed with emotion when we saw the outlines of the island,” Artyom told RT.

“We kept watching it as a connecting strip got smaller and smaller. And finally in December we got a picture of the fully-formed island.”

The discovery of the island, 410 meters by 780 meters in size, has been confirmed by the Northern Fleet Hydrographic Service. To officially register the finding, navy researchers have to undertake an expedition, scheduled for summer.

The young explorers are pinning their hopes on taking part as well. “But first of all we have to convince our parents, since it’s pretty scary to let your children go to the North Pole,” Valeria laughs.

While the teenagers haven’t come up with a name for their discovery yet, Russian scientists have dubbed it the ‘Island of Pupils.’ Artyom, however, says their suggestion is based on the form of the island, which “looks like a manatee.”