Does anyone own the arctic

This treaty clarified how, and to what degree, a country can claim sovereignty over waters extending from its shores — including those that stretch into the Arctic. The treaty gives members exclusive rights to natural resources within miles of their coastlines. If members makes claims beyond that boundary, they must prove that the seabed is physically connected to their country. In August , the Russians took a new approach. Two of their submarines descended below the North Pole ice and planted a Russian flag on the ocean floor.

It was the first-ever manned crew to reach the bottom of the Arctic Ocean at the pole. Canada, which had previously laid claim to some of that same territory, was not pleased. In December , Denmark presented the United Nations with its own claim. Some scientists now believe that disputed Arctic territory actually contains very little oil.

The Russians doubled down in August Larger version: Arctic Ocean Political Map. In , the United States announced that it assumed jurisdiction of all natural resources out to the edge of its continental shelf. This was the first nation to depart from the freedom of the seas doctrine, and other nations quickly followed. Nations began making unilateral claims to seafloor resources, fishing grounds, and exclusive navigable zones.

The United Nations sought to bring order and equity to the diversity of claims being made by nations around the world. It addressed navigational rights, territorial waters limits, exclusive economic zones, fishing, pollution, drilling, mining, conservation and many other aspects of maritime activity. With over nations participating, it was the first attempt by the international community to establish a formal agreement on how the seas can be used.

It also proposes a logical allocation of ocean resources. Map by Geology. In the Arctic, this gives Canada, the United States, Russia, Norway and Denmark a legal claim to extensive sea floor areas that might contain valuable resources.

Those who have opposed ratification say that it would limit United States sovereignty. The International Boundaries Research Unit at Durham University has prepared a map showing the potential maritime jurisdiction and boundaries of the Arctic region if the Law of the Sea treaty is put fully into effect. Landsat image of Arctic sea ice. Much of the Arctic is covered by ice, but global warming is reducing its thickness and extent. Image credit: NASA. In addition to the nautical mile economic zone, each country can extend its claim up to nautical miles from its shoreline for those areas that can be proven to be an extension of that country's continental shelf.

Each nation gets exclusive economic rights to the area where its continental shelf extends into the ocean, up to nautical miles beyond its coast.

If a country wants to claim a piece of far-off seabed, it has to make a compelling case that the area is actually a continuation of its continental shelf. To do that, they need rigorous scientific data—data that takes years to collect, because research ships can only sail for a few ice-free weeks a year. Now, finally, Canada has submitted their claim.

But it will be years before the country hears whether its supporting data is sound enough for the UN. The commission is so backlogged it handles oceanic territorial disputes from all over that a decision can take a decade or more.

Competing claims are part of the game. But then you can also imagine increasing global organization to combat climate change," which might prompt states to work together to forge better environmental regulation, Powell said.

Lovecraft said she is more cautiously optimistic. The reason is that too much hangs in the balance. For instance, the Arctic's frigid waters,already threatened by climate change, support food chains that benefit the entire planet. Lovecraft said that governments grasp the crucial importance of protecting that resource. There's proof in the Arctic Council , established in the s by the eight Arctic nations. It promotes cooperation among different countries and indigenous communities of the region, "in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic," the council website says.

But it's far more nuanced, and there's a lot of goodwill," she said. This cooperation might also become increasingly crucial as other, non-Arctic nations, like China, grow interested in the region.

They will use that soft power to create joint ventures [with Arctic nations] and all other kinds of ways to be in the Arctic," Lovecraft said. A major question then becomes whether the Arctic 8 will band together to protect the region from exploitation, Lovecraft said. She added that a fixation with the national "scramble for the Arctic"' could be distracting people from a larger and more immediate threat to the region: climate change.