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US Expedition Heads to Arctic

Posted Aug 14, 07 3:45 AM CDT in World,  US,  Politics 

(Newser) – Diving into the international scramble to grab parts of the Arctic, a US Coast Guard cutter is voyaging north this week to determine if any of the underwater territory can be claimed for America. The four-week expedition, which starts Friday, will use sonar technology to map the northern Chukchi Cap, an underwater plateau which extends from Alaska.

The expedition follows a dramatic flag-planting claim by Russia to ownership of the North Pole seabed and a declaration by Canada's prime minister to defend its territory. The disputed area, rich in mineral resources and governed by international treaties, is suddenly attractive as the melting polar ice cap makes the territory more accessible.

Source Reuters

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The U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy is shown leaving Seattle Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, for a scientific mission in the Arctic that will include breaking ice well north of Barrow, Alaska. The seven-year-old...   (Associated Press)
The U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy is shown passing cargo cranes at the Port of Seattle as it departs Seattle Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, for a scientific mission in the Arctic that will include breaking...   (Associated Press)
The U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy is shown passing a Coast Guard escort boat and a civilian sailboat as it leaves Seattle, Monday, Aug. 6, 2007, for a scientific mission in the Arctic that will include...   (Associated Press)
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