The Alpha Ridge is a major volcanic ridge under the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

between the

Canada Basin The Canada Basin is a deep oceanic basin within the Arctic Ocean. It is part of the Amerasian Basin and lies off the coast of Alaska and northwest Canada between the Chukchi Plateau north of Alaska and the Alpha Ridge north of Ellesmere Island ...

(off

Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island ( iu, script=Latn, Umingmak Nuna, lit=land of muskoxen; french: île d'Ellesmere) is Canada's northernmost and third largest island, and the tenth largest in the world. It comprises an area of , slightly smaller than Great Bri ...

) and the

Lomonosov Ridge The Lomonosov Ridge (russian: Хребет Ломоносова, da, Lomonosovryggen) is an unusual underwater ridge of continental crust in the Arctic Ocean. It spans between the New Siberian Islands over the central part of the ocean to Elle ...

. It was active during the formation of the

Amerasian Basin The Amerasia Basin, or Amerasian Basin, is one of the two major basins from which the Arctic Ocean can be subdivided (the other one being the Eurasian Basin). The triangular-shaped Amerasia Basin broadly extends from the Canadian Arctic Islands ...

. It was discovered in 1963. The highest elevation is about 2,700 m over the

ocean floor The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

. It is 200 to 450 km wide. The Alpha Ridge, Lomonosov Ridge, and

Nansen-Gakkel Ridge The Gakkel Ridge (formerly known as the Nansen Cordillera and Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge) is a mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is located in the Eurasian Basin of the ...

are the three major ranges that divide the Arctic Ocean floor,"CESAR" - Canadian expedition to study the Alpha Ridge complex: results of the seismic refraction survey
/ref> running generally parallel to each other. The 1983 Canadian Expedition to Study the Alpha Ridge (CESAR) seemed to establish that the Alpha Ridge is an extension of the continent from Ellesmere Island and hence there is a possibility that Canada may lay claim to the

resource rights Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Resources can broadly be classified upon their ...

for the region, in particular for

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

, according to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...

' Law of the Sea. There is no final conclusion to the issue so far, and part of the research planned for the European Drilling Research Icebreaker (''

Aurora Borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of br ...

'') was drilling of the Alpha Ridge to collect more data. Other research suggests that the ridge is probably a result of the oceanic mode of development.D.A. Forsyth, I. Asudeh, A. G. Green and H. R. Jackson, Crustal structure of the northern Alpha Ridge beneath the Arctic Ocean, ''Nature'' 322, 349 - 352 (24 July 1986); The Strand Fiord Formation on northwestern and west-central

Axel Heiberg Island Axel Heiberg Island ( iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᑦ ᓄᓈᑦ, ) is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located in the Arctic Ocean, it is the 32nd largest island in the world and Canada's seventh largest island. According ...

is interpreted to represent the cratonward extension of the Alpha Ridge.Volcanic style in the Strand Fiord Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Retrieved on 2007-08-15 The Alpha Ridge is part of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province.

References

J.R. Weber, Maps of the Arctic Basin Sea FloorPart II: Bathymetry and Gravity of the Alpha Ridge: The 1983 CESAR Expedition

External links

* {{coord, 84, N, 97, W, dim:1000000, display=title Underwater ridges of the Arctic Ocean Volcanism of the Arctic Ocean Volcanism of Nunavut

See also

References

External links