Russia is expanding its Arctic shelf

Russia submitted to the UN revised the application for the extension of the limits of the continental shelf in the Arctic by the addition of the Lomonosov ridge, and other areas of the Arctic ocean.

Convention on the law of the sea allows you to extend the financial area of the States, provided that the seabed beyond it is a natural continuation of the margin.

International competition for the development of the Arctic continues: while the United States is sending to the far North icebreakers and drilling rigs, Russia settles legal formalities to dispose of more territory on the Arctic shelf. Power claims the Lomonosov ridge, Mendeleev rise - alpha and Chukchi rise.

"Partial revised Russia's bid for the establishment of the outer limit of the continental shelf in the Arctic ocean comes from the scientific understanding that the constituent parts of the Complex Central Arctic subsea lifting, specifically the Lomonosov ridge, Mendeleev rise - alpha and Chukchi lifting and separating the basin of the Submariners and Chukchi basin have a continental nature of their education and are on item 6 of article 76 of the UN Convention on the law of the sea to submarine elevations that are natural components of the continental margin which are not subject to remote a limit of 350 nautical miles from the baseline", - quoted by TASS message of the Commission on the limits of the continental shelf.

Russia has already tried to defend the rights over the continental shelf in the Arctic: in 2001 at the UN she has filed an application concerning the same territories and land in the sea of Okhotsk. After she was rejected, it was decided to pursue the annexation of these lands individually. In early March 2014 the complaints of the Russian Federation to the area in the Okhotsk sea with an area of 52 thousand square meters have been satisfied.

The main condition for the transfer of financial boundaries of the area considered the fact that the area of seabed is considered to be a natural extension of the margin, because from 2005 to 2014 Russian scientists have conducted a wide range of geological and geophysical research in the Arctic ocean. They allowed us to refute the earlier findings of the Commission on the limits of the continental shelf, the result of which Russia was denied its request.

New data do not confirm supported in the first recommendations of the Commission 2002 the view that the raising of the Mendeleev - alpha has emerged as a great volcanic oceanic plateau, built on oceanic crust of the Canadian basin after its opening as a result of the passage of magmatic hot spot". Similar hypotheses have been developed in consequence of the absence of a clear scientific research data, but after the work of local scientists speak about the origin of the Arctic shelves will be more accurate.

The discussion of the Russian proposal is scheduled for the 39th session of the Commission, which will be held in the headquarters of the UN from 12 October to 27 November. Thereafter, the Commission will be able to give advice.

sections: Politics, Accidents