|
Russian navy staking Arctic Ocean sea bed
The Associated Press
A Russian naval expedition has set off for the North Pole to explore the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and stake Russia’s claim to oil and natural gas riches under the sea bed.
A nuclear-powered icebreaker and a huge research ship set sail from the northern city of Murmansk on July 24 for the North Pole, where scientists expect to find evidence that the sea bed is geographically linked to Russia and thus part of its territory, expedition leader Artur Chilingarov said July 24 in televised remarks.
“The Arctic is Russian,” Chilingarov, a member of parliament and Russia’s most famous explorer, told state-controlled NTV before setting sail. “We must prove the North Pole is an extension of the Russian coastal shelf.”
Two mini-submarines will be launched July 29 from one of the ships to confirm the work of an earlier Russian expedition, which said it found the link between the Eurasian continent and the underwater Lomonosov Ridge that runs across the North Pole.
Russian scientists have long maintained that Moscow has a right to the mineral riches beneath a chunk of the Arctic sea bed the size of Germany, France and Italy combined. The region is estimated to contain up to 10 billion cubic meters of hydrocarbons, along with diamonds and metal ores.
Definition of limits of shelf in dispute Under international law, the five Arctic countries — Russia, the United States, Canada, Norway and Denmark (through Greenland) — control an economic zone within 200 miles of their continental shelf. But the definition of the limits of that shelf are in dispute.
Russia first laid claim to wide swaths of undersea Arctic territory in the United Nations in 2001. But the four other polar countries have objected to this bid. Danish scientists maintained the Lomonosov Ridge is an extension of Greenland, making Denmark another claimant to the North Pole and its environs.
Dividing the undersea land is difficult and controversial. The Russian expedition may take samples of the sea bed to bolster its claims that the area is an extension of an underwater ridge linked to Russia’s mainland.
Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia, which has enormous energy resources, has aspired to restore its clout as a global power.
Cruise part of revival of polar programs Environmentalists say global warming is opening up the Arctic to new economic pressures, as receding ice exposes new areas of ocean and tundra to exploration and ice-free zones result in shorter shipping lanes.
After reaching the sea floor under the North Pole, Russia’s mini-subs will leave a titanium capsule containing the Russian flag, Anatoly Sagalevich, the subs’ designer, told NTV. The subs will also collect specimens of Arctic flora and fauna and videotape the dives, which will be broadcast live via a satellite, he said.
“Russian submarines will be the first to travel along the ocean floor under the North Pole,” he claimed, although Russian, U.S. and other military submarines have routinely operated in the Arctic for decades.
The Soviet Union had extensive Arctic and Antarctic research and exploration programs, and Soviet polar explorers were showered with accolades and hailed as national heroes. Those programs shrank dramatically in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The polar cruise is part of the recent revival of Russian polar programs.
| 