A new map of the Arctic has been drawn up by British cartographers which reveals the squabbling among countries staking a claim to its vast natural resources.
It shows how neighbouring superpowers such as America and Russia are circling ready to gain best position in an expected carve up of the polar region.
The race to find new reserves of oil, gas and minerals has led to the spotlight falling on the Arctic which is believed to contain about 20 per cent of the world's untapped resources under its pristine ice.
A year ago - to the fury of its neighbours - Russia sent a submarine to plant a flag on the seabed underneath the North Pole as part of its campaign to claim rights to a large part of the Arctic.
Russia claims that its continental shelf extends along a mountain chain running underneath the Arctic, known as the Lomonosov Ridge, which it claims gives it the right to claim a huge territory.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) says that if a state can prove its rights, it can exploit the resources of the sea and the seabed within its territory.
So far all of the Arctic nations have stuck to the rules for establishing seabed jurisdiction set out in UNCLOS but Russia and Norway have made submissions to the UN Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf, and Canada, Denmark and the USA are likely to do the same.
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There are fears that the scramble for territory and resources in the Arctic has the potential to trigger a new Cold War.
Now researchers at Durham University have drawn up the first ever 'Arctic Map' to show the disputed territories that neighbouring states might claim in the future.
The new map design follows a series of historical and ongoing arguments about ownership and the race for resources in the 14m square miles of the frozen islands and northern edges of continental land masses that surround the Arctic Ocean.
The Durham map shows where boundaries have been agreed, where known claims are, and the potential areas that states might claim.
The Lomonosov Ridge is just one area of contention between countries and other disputes involve Canada, the US, Denmark (Greenland), Iceland and Norway.
Under international law claims must be verified by geological surveys both on land and underwater to show how the land is configured.
Cartographers from Durham's International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU), which has built up an international reputation for expertise on boundary and territorial issues worldwide, hope it will become a vital tool in settling disputes.
The director of research at IBRU, Martin Pratt, said: "The map is the most precise depiction yet of the limits and the future dividing lines that could be drawn across the Arctic region.
"The results have huge implications for policy-making as the rush to carve up the polar region continues.
"It's a cartographic means of showing, and an attempt to collate information and predict the way in which the Arctic region may eventually be divided up. The freezing land and seas of the Arctic are likely to be getting hotter in terms of geopolitics; the Durham map aims to assist national and international policy-makers across the world."
More information can be found at http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/resources/arctic/
New Map Aims to Help Battle for Arctic Territories
Kate Kelland, PlanetArk 6 Aug 08;
LONDON - British researchers on Wednesday unveiled what they billed as the first authoritative map to highlight disputed territories in the resource-rich Arctic.
The map, which shows areas where boundaries are already agreed as well as areas where claims have been made or disputes could break out, is designed to help world powers as they battle over rights to the remote but potentially lucrative area.
"The map is the most precise depiction yet of the limits and the future dividing lines that could be drawn across the Arctic region," said Martin Pratt, director of research at Durham University's International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU).
"The results have huge implications for policy-making as the rush to carve up the polar region continues," he said.
Nations around the Arctic Ocean -- Canada, Russia, the United States, Norway, Denmark and Iceland -- are rushing to stake preliminary claims with the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf before a May 2009 deadline.
Scientists say global warming is more extreme in the Arctic than elsewhere, and the ice sheet is retreating -- it has shrunk by more than a quarter in the past 30 years. Previously inaccessible oil and gas reserves could be within reach in decades.
Russia sparked international outrage last year when it planted a flag on the seabed underneath the North Pole in an effort to stake its claim to a large chunk of the Arctic.
The US Geological Survey said last month the Arctic Circle could hold an estimated 90 billion barrels of recoverable oil, enough supply to meet world demand for almost three years.
It also said the Arctic holds around 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas and 20 percent of the undiscovered natural gas liquids.
Claims on the Arctic relate to a complex area of law covered by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, under which any state can claim territory up to 200 nautical miles from its shoreline and exploit the natural resources within that zone.
Some states such as Russia say their rights should extend much further because their continental shelves -- the shallow landmasses off their shores -- should count as shorelines.
Pratt said he hoped the new map would help politicians and policy makers to understand areas of jurisdiction as they engage in maritime territorial disputes.
"There has been a lot written about this coming conflict, but it is largely based on rather poor geographic information," he told Reuters. "We wanted to give a clear visual guide to what the situation really is."
The map is available for download from the IBRU website: http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/resources/arctic/. (Editing by Robert Hart )