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Arctic Ocean, Saturday, Sept. 6th Finding the Extended Continental Shelf The primary, day-to-day mission of Coast Guard Cutter Healy is to support scientific research in the Arctic. The ship was built with this in mind, and the National Science Foundation provided scientific experts to help with the final design and construction details. Thus, Healy combines two key capabilities found in only a handful of ships world-wide: Arctic icebreaking and a multi-beam echo sounder. A conventional echo sounder or depth finder provides a single reference for determining the depth of water. It generally works well when the bottom contours change slowly, but is subject to a limited view in areas where there are underwater "cliffs" or other steep contour changes. A multi-beam echo sounder sends out an array of echo sounder signals at the same time, and thus provides a "three dimensional" picture. To illustrate the difference, a recent multi-beam survey in the Marianas Islands revealed 14 previously unknown seamounts. While that's not such a big deal to surface ships, it's a very big deal to submarines. Healy is spending the summer mapping the Arctic Ocean floor in collaboration with NOAA, USGS, and the Canadian government. The purpose of mapping the ocean floor is to find the extent of the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS). The multi-beam data provides a much more accurate picture of the exact extent of the ECS. It turns out the Arctic Ocean floor is full of "cliffs" which are very important to defining the ECS. The mapping operations are directed by an embarked Chief Scientist. For the month of August, we operated in the area roughly 500 miles north of Barrow known as the Chukchi Cap or Chukchi Borderland. Dr. Larry Mayer of the University of New Hampshire, working under a NOAA grant, served as Chief Scientist. In addition to mapping, we also obtained rock samples from the sea floor. These rock samples will help define the geologic formations that form the continental shelf. Dredging for rock samples in water 2 miles deep proved far more art than science. Our efforts were rewarded with about a ton of samples which are headed to U.S. research labs for analysis. During the month of September, we are operating jointly with the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St. Laurent in the area of the Canada Basin. This is a joint operation because both countries have an interest in the area. We expect the entire basin, which extends for the Canadian Archipelago to the Chukchi Cap is part of the ECS. Both countries will need the data; we're saving time, money, and resources by cooperating. The Chief Scientist directing this month's work is Jonathan Childs of the U.S. Geological Survey. We also have representatives of the State Department, NOAA, the National Ice Center, the Native Alaskan Community, and the Canadian Coast Guard aboard. Defining the ECS is in the national interest. Under the Convention of the Law of the Sea, nations may define a continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) under certain circumstances. In May of this year, the United States met with other arctic nations at Ilulissat, Greenland and reinforced the law of the sea will govern Arctic waters. I've read plenty of press reports that characterize the ECS project as a "land grab". However, my view of the ECS project goes beyond this. The Convention on the Law of the Sea also provides tremendous environmental protections, and other provisions in support of humanity as a whole. Technology and climate change may soon allow exploiting resources that have been previously inaccessible. Using a little imagination, consider a world without the legal framework of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. Such a world is one of an ungoverned free-for-all across the Arctic. No regulation, no environmental protections, no broader considerations of humanity--any nation with sea going capability does whatever they want in the Arctic. Sovereign resource management works. The Bering Sea fishery is cited by some as the only healthy fishery on the globe. The reason: 2/3 of the Bering Sea is in the U.S. EEZ. The U. S. Coast Guard aggressively patrols the EEZ to keep poachers out. The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and its partner agencies monitor and control the fish harvest. As further evidence, consider the "donut hole", a triangle in the Bering Sea that is in international waters beyond the EEZ. In the 1970's the donut hole was unregulated and fished to depletion. Shortly thereafter, an international treaty closed the donut hole to all fishing. It still hasn't recovered. While mapping is our primary focus, we also carry scientist studying marine mammals, polar ice formation, climate change, and purely scientific aspects of the ocean floor geology....35 experts in all. It's quite cooperative a little village floating about the Arctic Ocean. Stay tuned for future entries from the northern limits of the world. Captain Fred Sommer Commanding Officer, USCGC Healy. | |
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