US, Canada Team Up to Explore Uncharted Arctic

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 29, 2009 1:50 AM CDT

(Newser) – Canada and the US are letting their Arctic rivalry thaw long enough to launch an exploration mission, the Globe & Mail reports. A pair of icebreakers—one from each country—will set off next week into uncharted waters, working in tandem to clear a path and map North America's continental shelf. The research is likely to lay a foundation for future claims to the Arctic's riches.

"This really is uncharted territory—we have better maps of the moon,” said the chief hydrographer on the American ship. The two countries, which both reject Russia's claim to the North Pole, will share data from the mission. But they are expected to file overlapping claims on large areas of the Arctic, and the US has no plans to share undersea data collected by its US submarines with the Canadians.

The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent makes its way through the ice in Baffin Bay, Canada. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

The ice covered waters near Resolute Bay are seen from the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis S. St-Laurent. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jonathan Hayward)

The American icebreaker Healy is shown on the Bering Sea as a party of scientists takes ice core samples on an ice floe. (AP Photo/US Coast Guard, Dave Withrow)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Russia Poised to Make Mammoth Arctic Sea Grab

Scramble for melting Arctic starting to heat up

(NEWSER) - As melting ice continues to make more of the Arctic Sea accessible every year, Russia is planning to annex an area of the sea the size of Texas and Arizona combined. The Kremlin is expected to stake its claim to the waters at the United Nations, arguing that the Siberian continental shelf is connected to undersea Arctic ridges, the Christian Science Monitor reports. More»

US Expedition Heads to Arctic

Expedition joins scramble to lay claim to the Arctic

(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. More»

Danes Join Scramble for Arctic

Denmark to launch expedition to Arctic to defend territorial claims

(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. More»

Russians Advance on North Pole

With eye on energy-rich seabed, submarines make test dive

(NEWSER) - In a race to claim rich natural resources under the North Pole, two Russian submarines successfully dove several thousand feet in Russia's northern territorial waters today, Reuters reported. Though US and Russian subs have long plied the waters under the pole, none has reached the seabed there, at a depth of more than 13,000 feet. More»

Northern Lights Head South—for 1 Night

Aurora borealis may be visible in northern US tonight

(NEWSER) - Thanks to a plasma eruption that roiled the surface of the sun, residents of the northern US and Canada may be able to enjoy a spectacular show tonight—the Northern Lights. "This eruption is directed right at us, and is expected to get here early in the day on August 4th," an astrophysicist in Cambridge, Mass., tells CNN . "It's the first major Earth-directed eruption in quite some time." More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

US, Canada Team Up to Explore Uncharted Arctic

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Canada • United States • North Pole • Arctic • Arctic race • Arctic Sea • icebreaker

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Russia Poised to Make Mammoth Arctic Sea Grab

Scramble for melting Arctic starting to heat up

US Expedition Heads to Arctic

Expedition joins scramble to lay claim to the Arctic

Danes Join Scramble for Arctic

Denmark to launch expedition to Arctic to defend territorial claims

Russians Advance on North Pole

With eye on energy-rich seabed, submarines make test dive

Northern Lights Head South—for 1 Night

Aurora borealis may be visible in northern US tonight

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

US, Canada Team Up to Explore Uncharted Arctic

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Canada • United States • North Pole • Arctic • Arctic race • Arctic Sea • icebreaker

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Russia Poised to Make Mammoth Arctic Sea Grab

Scramble for melting Arctic starting to heat up

US Expedition Heads to Arctic

Expedition joins scramble to lay claim to the Arctic

Danes Join Scramble for Arctic

Denmark to launch expedition to Arctic to defend territorial claims

Russians Advance on North Pole

With eye on energy-rich seabed, submarines make test dive

Northern Lights Head South—for 1 Night

Aurora borealis may be visible in northern US tonight

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?