Canadian Researchers to Begin Arctic Ocean Continental Shelf Survey

Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr stated that the Canadian government supports the research of the Arctic Ocean.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Canadian icebreaker ship Louis S. St.-Laurent will leave for Norway on Friday to begin a six-week expedition in the Arctic Ocean in support of Canada’s submission on the extended continental shelf, Global Affairs Canada said in a statement on Thursday.

The Canadian Hydrographic Service in collaboration with the government of Sweden will undertake a seabed mapping expedition during the voyage.

"The work of our scientists and researchers on this survey, in collaboration with our Swedish partners, is vital to improving our collective knowledge of the Arctic and supporting the science that enables sound, evidence-based decisions," Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr stated. "Our government is proud to support this important research to gather necessary data to help determine the outer limits of Canada’s continental shelf."

Following the Norway leg of the trip, the Louis S. St-Laurent will collect data in the Canadian Basin, located in the western Arctic Ocean, in collaboration with US researchers.

It is Canada’s fifth expedition under the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance, which involves Canada, the European Union and the United States.

Canada is one of the five Arctic nations — alongside Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States — that have been laying claims to hydrocarbon deposits located in its offshore Arctic border areas.

The Law of the Sea was created by the United Nations in 1982 and defines outer limit lines of continental shelf for coastal states and their exclusive economic zones.