When Associate Prof Linn Hoffmann boarded a research vessel to study marine phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean, the last thing she expected was to be part of the discovery of a new island off the coast of Antarctica. You would think it would be hard to miss an island 130m long, 50m wide and 16m high but, to be fair, it is in the Weddell Sea which is covered in thick sea ice for most of the year. ‘‘It’s roughly the size of Dunedin’s Toitū Museum.’’ The University of Otago botany department biological oceanographer and Future Ocean Research Theme director said the discovery was ‘‘completely unexpected’’. Scientists on board the vessel were studying and mapping the underwater terrain in the Weddle Sea and initially thought it was an iceberg. But on closer inspection, it was found to be an island. Assoc Prof Hoffmann said at that point, the majority of the scientists on board, including herself, stopped what they were doing and helped map the island.…