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August 2010

Vol. 15, No. 31 Week of August 01, 2010

US, Canadian scientists map Arctic seafloor

U.S. and Canadian scientists will map the Arctic seafloor this summer, gathering data to help define the outer limits of the continental shelf.

The U.S. Geological Survey said in a July 26 press release that under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal nations automatically have a continental shelf out 200 nautical miles, or to a maritime boundary.

However, nations are entitled to an “extended continental shelf” beyond 200 nautical miles if certain criteria are met.

USGS is the lead science agency for the United States in the 2010 mission.

“In this expedition, Canada and the U.S. are working together to determine the extended continental shelf in the Arctic to better determine where the Convention’s criteria can be met,” said USGS scientist Brian Edwards, chief scientist on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy.

USGS said the Healy would sail Aug. 2 through Sept. 6, meeting up with the Canadian Coast Guard’s Louis S. St-Laurent at sea. The ships will alternately break through the Arctic sea ice for each other, with the Healy mapping the shape of the seafloor using a multibeam echo sounder and the Louis S. St-Laurent collecting multichannel seismic reflection and refraction data to determine sediment thickness.

USGS said this is the third year the U.S. and Canada have collaborated in extended continental shelf data collection in the Arctic. The U.S. has independently been collecting single ice breaker data in the Arctic since 2003.

“The Arctic Ocean is an area of great interest for science, resource conservation, and possible economic development,” said USGS scientist Deborah Hutchinson. “Because there is an area with considerable overlap between the U.S. and Canadian extended continental shelves, it makes sense to share data sets and work together in remote and challenging environments of the Arctic Ocean.”

USGS scientist Jonathan Childs, who is leading the seismic data operations team for the 2010 mission, said: “This is the last year working the Canada basin north of Alaska, and in 2011, we’ll collect data together with Canada in the area north of the Canada basin around the Alpha Ridge.”

—Petroleum News






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