Ben Preiss
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 Russians and Canadians Face-off in Arctic Sea for Gas and Oil Rights As global warming makes vast areas of the historically frozen Arctic Sea accessible for the first time the Russians and Canadians are sending missions into the area to explore the seabed and lay the groundwork for claims to the area in the UN. The Russians have already filed, the Canadians are expected to, the Americans can claim area adjacent to Alaska and Norway and Denmark (via Greenland) are also possible entrants. But the yah gatta like the Canadians and Russians as favorites, they’ve been training longer and have the experience. The Canadians have a younger team taking to the ice but the Russians really need the rubles. So it’s anyone’s game. Who says global warming can’t be fun?  As milder temperatures make exploration of the Arctic sea floor possible for the first time, Russia's biggest-ever research expedition to the region is steaming toward the immense scientific prestige of being the first to explore the seabed of the world's crown.
In the next few days, two manned minisubs will be launched through a hole blasted in the polar ice to scour the ocean floor nearly three miles below. They will gather rock samples and plant a titanium Russian flag to symbolize Moscow's claim over 460,000 square miles of hitherto international territory – an area bigger than France and Germany combined in a region estimated to contain a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves.
The issue of who owns the North Pole, now administered by the International Seabed Authority, has long been regarded as academic since the entire region is locked in year-round impenetrable ice. But with global warming thinning the icecaps, the question has vaulted to the front burner.
(news.yahoo)References: canada, news.yahoo Comment: on Geographic Ice Hockey |
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