Dispute resurfacing
Italy may soon be involved in a bizarre tussle with other countries over the ownership of a submerged island off the coast of Sicily. The island could reappear after being underwater for 170 years following seismic activity around the volcano of Mount Etna.
Ferdinandea Island last surfaced for six months in 1831, when James Robert Graham, a British admiral, claimed it for his country. uk maps mark the island as Graham Bank or Graham Island. France had also staked a claim.
Scientists first spotted bubbling water 55.5 kilometres off the coast of Sicily about three years ago. Weather satellites revealed concentric wave patterns as fisherfolk reported dead fish and spouts of hot water. Sicilian divers have been quick to raise the Italian flag on the island as scientists have recently reported similar phenomena in the area.