slicing up the arctic pie

[hermanntrude]

There's been a lot of talk about the arctic recently. Apparently it was all started by the russians, who decided after taking an underwater survey that a ridge of land juts out of russia into the arctic ocean, meaning that Russia somehow has a claim over some of the ocean floor, which might be useful if some of that pesky ice melts away so they can get at the gas and oil


Link 1: article in globe and mail on russian plans to claim arctic seabed
Link 2: article in the globe and mail, on the russian planting of a flag on the seabed of the north pole.

Then we heard that Canada wasn't gonna take that lightly, and Harper was going to buy some ice-strengthened boats to patrol the North, which some people felt wasn't much of a plan, since he'd originally promised REAL ice-breakers. He also announced that millions of dollars would be spent on establishing a military presence near the northwest passage, which may one day be a useful thing to own.

Link3: article in globe and mail on the planned purchase of ice-strengthened boats for patrolling the arctic

Now the Danes have stepped in, saying that the ridge of land russia is talking about might be joined to greenland, which is Danish territory, and they've sent some people to the north pole to collect data.

Link 4: article in globe and mail on danish expedition

So the only other nation likely to make waves is the USA, with claims via Alaska. An interesting tidbit here is that the USA is the only nation of the four who didn't ratify the UN treaty on the law of the sea. Perhaps one day they'll just wander up there with thousands of missiles and claim the whole arctic ocean for themselves...

 

[Curiosity]

Put this one up yesterday - it gained little interest - perhaps it will here with the introductory post.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNe...&rpc=22&sp=tru

After Russia and Canada, U.S. ship headed for Arctic

Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:15PM
By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Coast Guard cutter is headed to the Arctic this week on a mapping mission to determine whether part of this area can be considered U.S. territory, after recent polar forays by Russia and Canada.
The four-week cruise of the Coast Guard Cutter Healy starts Friday and aims to map the sea floor on the northern Chukchi Cap, an underwater plateau that extends from Alaska's North Slope some 500 miles northward.
This is the third such U.S. Arctic mapping cruise -- others were in 2003 and 2004 -- and is not a response to a Russian mission this month to place a flag at the North Pole seabed, or a newly announced Canadian plan for an Arctic port, U.S. scientists said.
"This cruise was planned for three years and we've had the earlier cruises; this is part of a long and ongoing program, not at all a direct response," said Larry Mayer of the University of New Hampshire, who will be on the voyage.
So why are the countries with Arctic coastlines all heading northward now?
Under the U.N. Law of the Sea treaty, every coastal state that has the potential to claim some part of the Arctic's undersea mineral wealth must make a claim to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
The United States is not now a party to the sea treaty, but Mayer and Andy Armstrong, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, held out hope that Washington might join.
Armstrong, who will also be aboard the U.S. cutter, acknowledged that this cruise will "map the location of features that would have a role in the U.S. extension of the continental shelf."
Most of the area the scientists want to map will be covered in ice, even in the northern summer. They will use an echo sounder that bounces many bits of sound in a swath across the sea floor, Mayer said by telephone.
"We don't map just a single spot beneath the vessel," Mayer said. "We can map a wide swath beneath the vessel in relatively high resolution."
The mission will look for features specified by the treaty, including the place where the slope turns into the flat plain of the deep sea bottom, Armstrong said on the same phone call.
Coastal states have rights to resources of the sea floor of their continental shelves. Under the Law of the Sea, a country gets 200 nautical miles of continental shelf automatically but may extend that if it meets certain geologic criteria, the oceanic administration said in a statement.
The Bush administration wants Senate consent to join the Law of the Sea convention, which would give the United States the same rights as other treaty parties to protect coastal and ocean resources.


__________________

 

[Curiosity]

More stuff on the internet regarding this topic

http://www.statedepartmentwatch.org/GiveawaySummary.htm

(too long to post)....

And this one particular item...

U. S. State Department Helps
Russian Bogus Claim to North Pole
The U. S. State Department is actively helping the Russian government in its bogus claim to the seabeds under the North Pole and beyond. The North Pole seabeds may actually be American. Five American islands lie between the Russian mainland and the North Pole: Wrangell, Herald, Bennett, Jeannette, and Henrietta. (See map below.) The State Department has agreed with the Russian government to a de facto abandonment of American sovereignty over these islands and the 200-mile exclusive economic zones around them without any Congressional or public review.
The 1990 maritime boundary agreement was secretly negotiated by the State Department. This executive agreement sets a maritime boundary between Alaska and Siberia that put the five American islands in the Arctic and their exclusive economic zones on the Russian side. It was signed by Secretary of State James A. Baker III. Congress, the State of Alaska, and the American public were excluded from any participation. Tens of thousands of square miles of valuable seabeds were surrendered to the Russians without any benefit to the American public. Billions of barrels of oil and gas resources along with vast fisheries have effectively been given away to the Russians by the State Department.
Over the past two decades the State Department has received tens of thousands of petitions to stop the giveaway. The legislatures of the States of Alaska and California have protested. Numerous national and local groups have urged a stop to the giveaway. The executive agreement could be revoked with the stroke of a pen. However, the State Department adamantly defends the giveaway.
The State Department should actively be asserting American sovereignty over these five islands and explore what claims the exclusive economic zones and outercontinental shelf entitle the United States to the North Pole seabeds.
​

 

[hermanntrude]

sorry about duplicating your post, curiosity. I felt that each story on it's own wasn't up to much but the whole story is certainly interesting. It will be a long slow tale, but its telling may prove important for us all.

 

[Curiosity]

Hermann

My initial post was swinging in the wind for lack of attention - I thought it might generate some interest if I tagged onto your post of today - no apology required - the internet down here is buzzing with information on the international waters in the Arctic right now - I hope some settlements can be made. It seems the US missed out on some serious consideration early on regarding this.

 

[hermanntrude]

Humankind's response to global warming is to grin at the thought of new resources being uncovered by a receding ice-cap.

 

[Curiosity]

Here is one comment regarding the disregard for State Sovreignty or State's Rights when it comes to the heavy hand of the U.S. State Department


Here’s the problem: When our nation was founded, we were to be individual states (countries) bound in a federal pact/treaty called the United States (countries) of America. That is why I believe that if a border State, whether it be a southern state or a northern border state, wants to enforce its own border law and/or control what is ceded to other nations, then it is their right to do so. The Civil War was not fought over slavery, but state’s sovereignty and state’s rights. The federal overreach we experience today is a direct result of the North winning.

This is also an argument fought by some southern states regarding immigration prevention.

It seems personal property becomes more important when another desires to own it.

 

[hermanntrude]

Russian mission confirms Arctic claim: official

MOSCOW (AFP) - Samples taken by a Russian submarine when it planted a flag beneath the North Pole show that the sea floor there is a continuation of Russia's land mass, an official said Wednesday.


The underwater Lomonosov Shelf was shown to be a "structural extension of the Siberian continental platform," said Viktor Poselov, deputy director of Russia's institute of maritime geological research, ITAR-TASS news agency reported.
The finding was the first to come from study of "geological materials" collected by the submarine on August 2, Poselov said. It will take a year to secure final results, he said.
Russia has also gathered sonar, video and aerial imagery of the region to back up its claims of jurisdiction over the resource-rich area, he said.
"The collected information is unique. It will serve as the basis for... the creation of a geological map, the evaluation of hydrocarbon resources, and, without question, will strengthen Russia politically and economically," he said.
Competing claims over Arctic territory by numerous countries, including Canada, Denmark and the United States, have sharpened since the expedition planted the Russian flag on the North Pole seabed.