Nobody cared about the Arctic ice cap when it was a barren, frozen stretch of windswept snow. One quarter of the world’s known untapped oil and gas reserves are believed to be located beneath this frozen mass, but without the means to get through the ice, those bountiful resources were destined to remained untapped.

However, global warming is dramatically reducing the extent of polar ice at an accelerating rate. The sea ice in the Arctic for example, measured in the last month, has never been as small as it is now. So far, during 2007, it has shrunk to less than 1.93 million square miles and there is still a month of melting (September) to go.

Numerous studies have indicated that much of the floating ice that normally blankets the polar regions will be gone by the end of the century. Also, consider a new study (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory) which indicates that the melting process is indeed accelerating and that the Arctic Ocean may be completely ice free by the summer of 2030.

The accelerated melting of Arctic ice is leading to the potential to make its untapped natural resource bounty accessible for commercial purposes far sooner than expected. In fact, melting ice could even open up the North East passage for the first time. The route, which would dramatically cut the length of a journey from Europe to Asia, could become navigable to commercial traffic within the next decade.

Russia was surely aware of the ramifications of melting Arctic ice when several months ago, it sent two Russian ships to the North Pole . Upon reaching the Pole, veteran Arctic explorer Artur Chilingarov descended 14,000 feet in a deep sea submersible and dropped a Russian flag cast in titanium onto the seabed. Russia’s claim was that the 1,220-mile long underwater Lomonosov Ridge is geologically linked to the Siberian continental platform and similar in structure. The flag constituted Russia‘s claim of ownership for the Ridge. Experts estimate the ridge has ten billion tons of gas and oil deposits and significant sources of diamonds, gold, tin, manganese, nickel, lead, and platinum.

Countries that have interests in the area have been outraged at the audacity of both Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. Canada has sent naval warships to patrol Arctic seaways. Meanwhile Denmark, Norway, and the United States have filed claims.

Here are some of the reactions from the International community to the Soviet claim: The U.S. State Department said the Russian claim was completely unacceptable. "It's an extraordinary idea and I can't believe it will go anywhere," an official said. A Canadian official called the move “a complete surprise.” Ted Nield, of the Geological Society in London stated "The notion that geological structures can somehow dictate ownership is deeply peculiar. Anyway, the Lomonosov Ridge is not part of a continental shelf - it is the point at which two ocean floor plates under the Arctic Ocean are spreading apart. It extends from Russia across to Canada, which means Canada could use the same argument and say the ridge is part of the Canadian shelf. If you take that to its logical conclusion, Canada could claim Russia and the whole of Eurasia as its own."

So, what countries own these vast Artic resources and how do they make their claim? Currently, there is no international agreement on the division of the Arctic, since it is just an ice filled sea with no solid land to claim. The United Nations does have an agreement from 1982 called “The Law Of The Sea,” which gives countries control of waters two hundred miles out from their shores. However, the United States never has ratified that United Nations treaty. Various methods of division of the Arctic are being considered by countries in the United Nations ranging from formulas involving the amount of coastline to longitude with the North Pole. Countries such as Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States have much at stake in these discussions.

However; the fact that Russia publicly staked their claim on the North Pole during 2007, is the first indication that the global race for control over the vast natural resources under the shrinking Arctic ice cap has just begun.

http://www.eworldvu.com

Update on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 03:49PM by Jim Smith

A Russian expedition has proved that a ridge of mountains below the Arctic Ocean is part of Russia's continental shelf, government officials have said.

The August expedition planted the Russian flag on the seabed below the North Pole and gathered soil samples.

Russia's Natural Resources Ministry said early test results on the soil samples showed Russia is geologically linked to the Lomonosov Ridge.

The Arctic is thought to be rich in oil, gas and mineral reserves.

"Results of an analysis of the Earth's crust show that the structure of the underwater Lomonosov mountain chain is similar to the world's other continental shelves, and the ridge is therefore part of Russia's land mass," a statement from the ministry said.

Russia's claim to a vast swathe of territory in the Arctic has been challenged by the other nations with territory bordering the ocean - including the US and Canada.