Molar Island
Molar Island is an ice-covered island of irregular shape, 0.25 mile long, between Early Islands and the Cosgrove Ice Shelf in the extreme southeast part of Ferrero Bay along the Eights Coast.
Discovery
Prior to the early 2000s, Molar Island was covered by the Cosgrove Ice Shelf. However, climate scientists discovered the island as they were studying the ice shelf's retreat due to deep circumpolar water erosion. The occurrence of open water around the feature, clearly shown in USGS aerial photographs and satellite images of the 1966-2000 period, has drawn attention due to the island's position behind the fast ice of Ferrero Bay.
Name
Molar Island was named descriptively in 2009 by the United States Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names because the shape of the island is reminiscent of a molar tooth.