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Danes Join Scramble for Arctic

Posted Aug 11, 07 1:20 PM CDT in World,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – A Danish expedition is set to head for the Arctic tomorrow, joining the scramble to claim polar territories. A team of 40 scientists and massive icebreakers are heading north to prove that a 2,000-kilometer underwater mountain range stretching to the pole is an extension of Greenland, and accordingly belongs to Denmark. But Canada and Russia are also calling dibs on the ridge and its untapped resources.

The expedition will be collecting data for a possible sovereignty demand, the Toronto Star reports,  but it'll be up to the United Nations to decide whether Denmark owns the territory, based on a 1982 treaty. In the meantime, Russia planted a national flag in polar ice two weeks ago, and Canadian PM Stephen Harper wrapped up a three-day Arctic tour yesterday.

Source Toronto Star (Canada)

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Russian atomic icebreaker Rossiya seen in this August, 1987 file photo. Russian scientists hope to plunge to the seabed beneath the North Pole in the next few days in a miniature sub and plant a titanium...   (Associated Press)
Icebergs are seen off Greenland's eastern coast in this July 17, 2007 file photo near the arctic circle. Danish scientists aboard powerful icebreakers head for the Arctic ice pack north of Greenland on...   (Associated Press)
A Russian deep-diving miniature submarine is lowered from the research vessel Akademik Fyodorov moments before performing a dive in the Arctic Ocean beneath the ice at the North Pole in this photograph...   (Associated Press)
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Russia • United Nations • global warming • Canada • Arctic • Denmark • Stephen Harper • Greenland • North Pole • Arctic race


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