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Resource Exploration in the North

Northern Countries Lay Claim to Parts of the Arctic as Sea Ice Melts

May 13, 2008

Northern countries are rushing to claim parts of the Arctic, as melting sea ice makes the North more accessible for resource exploration.

Melting sea ice in the Arctic will likely make it easier for northern countries to access potential resources in one of the world's last great-uncharted regions. Afterall, satellite images released in August show that the ice cap is 25 per cent smaller than it was 30 years ago, according to Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Centre.

In the thick of the global resource-rush is Russia, which made headlines August 2, 2007, when it planted its national flag 4km down on the Arctic seabed in an attempt to further its claims to the region. The other players include Canada, Norway, Denmark and the United States. All of the countries have exclusive jurisdiction within 200 nautical miles from their coasts, but can extend this area outwards if they can prove one of the region's underwater ridges is an extension of their continental shelf. It is these underwater mountain ranges that may hold huge deposits of oil and other minerals. Estimates place Arctic resources anywhere from 10 to 25 per cent of the world's reserves but more precise guesses are beginning to surface. Last month, for example, the United States Geological Survey estimated that total reserves in the Greenland Rift Basin are about 31.4 billion bbl. of natural gas -approximately four years of U.S. oil consumption

But, according to Marianne Douglas of the Canadian Circumpolar Institute at the University of Alberta, the Arctic landscape probably can't withstand the environmental impact of resource extraction and an increased human presence in the region. Not to mention that global warming has made the changing Arctic environment even more vulnerable. In some cases, melting permafrost has led the ground to subside and precious vegetation has been lost.

Samuel Babinsky of the Canadian Coastguard adds that it will be a long time before there's any value in navigating the arctic at all. " There are periods of the summer that you can go up there," he says. "But for the most part it's a very harsh environment. There's no trees, its just desolate rock, so to speak."

Not to mention that there are only a few ships in the world that can travel through the Arctic, even in the summer. Russia has six nuclear powered icebreakers, while Canada only has two heavy icebreakers, the Louis St Laurent and the Terry Fox. These ships can break ice up to five metres thick, which is what you would find in the high Arctic during the summer. However, in the winter you're more likely to find pack ice up to 100 metres thick, says Babinsky. There's no way even a nuclear powered icebreaker could make its way through these walls of ice.

And while it's true that the ice has receeded over the last few years, Babinsky says the Arctic is unpredictable. "We've had several years now where conditions have been very light as far as ice conditions are concerned, but I wouldn't say that this is going to be a long term thing. I've learned from working in icebreaking that some winters will be harsher than others," he explains. He adds that even though the Canadian coastguard has become expert at recognizing and analyzing ice conditions, there is still a great risk that some unforeseen conditions will destroy a vessel, especially since much of the Arctic is uncharted.

The maps that we do have of the Arctic are often outdated, says Dale Nicholson, director of the Canadian Hydrographic Service. "The data is adequate but it may not be to today's standard where people are using GPS and expect to know where they are within 10 metres. The data in some of these charts could be 20 or 30 years old because we haven't surveyed the area in that long," he says. Unfortunately, there is no simple solution. It takes time and money to collect new data and update the charts and the only real opportunity to do so is a few months in the summer, when the ice has melted.

"Still, It's a challenging time to be in the North. It's exciting, there's a lot of economic hope for rebirth, but this is our chance to really do it right," says Douglas, adding that the international does not have a great track-record for sustainable resource extraction.

The copyright of the article Resource Exploration in the North in International Environmental Affairs is owned by Alyssa Julie. Permission to republish Resource Exploration in the North in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.