A seabed mapping exercise which recently completed in the Beaufort Sea region of the Canadian Arctic has according to Canadian federal scientists yield ‘very promising results’.  This seabed mapping exercise is part of the larger United Nations Law of the Sea claim for extending continental shelf rights, for which Canada has to submit its claim before November 2013 deadline.  Extending Canadian seabed claims could eventually lead to a host of increased wealth for the nation in terms natural resources — most notably oil and gas deposits.

The Beaufort Sea mapping exercise was conducted in collaboration with Canadian and American scientists who used sonar and seismic equipment aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Louis St. Laurent and American cutter Healy.  Interesting to note is that silt sediments expelled from the Mackenzie River (near NWT/Yukon boarder), which deposit millions of tons annually in the Beaufort Sea may provide the “smoking gun” required to increase Canadian claims in the region. 

American officials participating in the exercise where conducting similar research for their efforts to make a claim at some point after the United States ratifies the UN Law of the Sea Treaty.

For further information on Canada’s seabed mapping exercise, please visit the following link:

http://www.polarwarming.ca/contentious_issues.html

For further information on the Beaufort Sea mapping exercise, please visit the following link:

Canada’s Arctic claim ‘promising’: researcher – National Post