earth science

Schjetman Reef

Schjetman Reef is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Schjetman Reef rather than just read about it. In short: Schjetman Reef is a supposed phantom island in the North Pacific west of Hawaii, reported discovered by the Norwegian captain Ole Andreas Schjetnan in 1868. He reported its coordinates to be 16°8′N 178°58′W.

Key takeaways

Schjetman Reef belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Schjetman Reef to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Schjetman Reef from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Schjetman Reef is a supposed phantom island in the North Pacific west of Hawaii, reported discovered by the Norwegian captain Ole Andreas Schjetnan in 1868. He reported its coordinates to be 16°8′N 178°58′W. The island was reported to be 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) long (north-to-south) and 0.5 nautical miles (0.9 km) wide (east-to-west). Due to a similar latitude (less than half a degree) to Johnston Atoll, it is possible that it was simply a misreading of longitude. Regardless, there is no evidence of any islands in the remote vicinity of Schjetnan's reported location, with the closest prominence of any size being a small, unnamed seamount roughly 100 miles to the east. Since Schjetnan's discovery, various expeditions have set out to attempt to find the island. The USS Alert in 1880, the USS Milwaukee in 1923, and the USS Whippoorwill and Tanager in 1924 all searched for the island without finding it. A sighting was reported in 1990, however, by a sailor from Hawaii. The two Norwegians Bård Sæther and Arild Solheim undertook an expedition in the S/Y Havaiki in January 2006 to find the island. The reef continued to appear on maps as late as 1934.

See also 1921 National Geographic map showing Schjetman Reef between Wake Island and Johnston Island 1932 German map showing Schjetman Reef in same location

References

External links Site of the Havaiki expedition, with info on the island

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Schjetman Reef

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Schjetman Reef claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Schjetman Reef before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Schjetman Reef ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Schjetman Reef

In research: Schjetman Reef appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Schjetman Reef in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Schjetman Reef is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Phantom islands, Reefs of the Pacific Ocean, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Schjetman Reef outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Schjetman Reef in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Schjetman Reef means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Schjetman Reef out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Schjetman Reef in simple terms?

Why does Schjetman Reef matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Schjetman Reef?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Schjetman Reef.