Its all the rage this week: a mountain range along the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. <\/p>\n
The Lomonosov Ridge could determine how much Arctic seabed Canada could one day claim as its own. It could even settle the question of Santas citizenship at the North Pole. <\/p>\n
Unlocking the ridges secrets may not be the magic bullet that Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird described this week, after he sent the scientists back to look at it again. <\/p>\n
But there are still things left to learn, especially whether and how it is even attached to Canadas continental shelf. <\/p>\n
In their submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf last week, government scientists stopped short of the North Pole, which lies along the ridge. <\/p>\n
Baird didnt explain why they made the choice to stop where they did, but he said he wasnt happy with it. <\/p>\n
The reality is the Lomonosov Ridge wasnt fully mapped in the submissions that my department did, Baird said. <\/p>\n
And frankly, we think its important when you do this extensive mapping; we wanted to get the entire Arctic map, including on the ridge. <\/p>\n
According to geologists, the ridges shape and history are largely understood. <\/p>\n
And mapping the whole thing would take Canadians all the way to Russia. <\/p>\n
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Originally posted here: <\/p>\n
Baird: Finish Arctic mapping<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Its all the rage this week: a mountain range along the bottom of the Arctic Ocean. The Lomonosov Ridge could determine how much Arctic seabed Canada could one day claim as its own Continue reading