Northern pebbles new pawns in Arctic chess game

It was exposed mainly by shifting pack ice.

As Greenland is under Denmark's administration, this scrap of land just 40 meters long could extend Danish territory further north and strengthen Copenhagen's claim on the pole.

Its discovery comes as countries around the Arctic Ocean -- the United States, Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Iceland -- are rushing to stake out the Polar Basin's seabed, fishing rights and maritime routes.