The United States and Canada will conduct a joint Arctic mission this summer to prove their right for the extended continental shelf and Arctic seafloor, the U.S. Department of State has said.
The mission will continue the U.S.-Canada collaboration begun in 2008, which saves "millions of dollars" for both countries and increases scientific and diplomatic cooperation on the Arctic issue, the department said in a statement.
"The mission will help delineate the outer limits of the continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean for the U.S. and Canada, and will also include the collection of data in the disputed area where the U.S. and Canada have not agreed to a maritime boundary," the statement said.
The announcement comes less than two weeks after Russia's Akademik Fedorov research vessel left the city of St. Petersburg for an expedition to ascertain the borders of Russia's Arctic continental shelf.
The vast hydrocarbon deposits that will become more accessible as rising global temperatures lead to a reduction in sea ice have brought the Arctic to the center of geopolitical wrangling between the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway, and Denmark.
Under international law, each of the five Arctic Circle countries has a 322-kilometer (200-mile) exclusive economic zone in the Arctic Ocean.
However, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, if a country can prove its continental shelf extends beyond the 200-mile limit, it can claim a right to more of the ocean floor.
"Both the U.S. and Canada will be collecting scientific information to satisfy the criteria for delineating the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles as set forth in the Convention on the Law of the Sea," the U.S. Department of State said.
This will be the third U.S.-Canadian Arctic mission. The first was conducted in 2008 and the second in 2009. This year's expedition will reportedly cover regions over the Canada Basin, the Beaufort Shelf, and the Alpha Mendeleev Ridge.
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent will participate in the expedition, the statement said. The joint operations will be conducted from August 7 to September 3.
In 2001, Russia was the first of the five Arctic states to file a request to extend its continental shelf border beyond the standard 200-mile limit. The UN turned down the request, citing a lack of evidence to support the claim. Russia has said it will spend some 1.5 billion rubles ($50 million) to define the extent of its continental shelf in the Arctic in 2010.
The current expedition by Russia's Akademik Fedorov is also the third Arctic mission carried out by the country. The two previous - to the Mendeleyev underwater chain and to the Lomonosov Ridge - were undertaken in 2005 and 2007, respectively.
WASHINGTON, July 27 (RIA Novosti)
