The continental shelf of Russia or the Russian continental shelf is the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

adjacent to the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Geologically, the extent of the shelf is defined as the entirety of the continental shelves adjacent to Russia's coasts. In

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, however, the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international treaty that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 169 sov ...

more narrowly defines the extent of the shelf as the

seabed 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 ...

and

subsoil Subsoil is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. Like topsoil, it is composed of a variable mixture of small particles such as sand, silt and clay, but with a much lower percentage of organic matter and humus. The su ...

of the submarine areas over which a state exercises sovereign rights. The

Siberian Shelf The Siberian Shelf is a coastal shelf in the Arctic Ocean and is the largest continental shelf of the Earth, a part of the continental shelf of Russia. It extends from the continent of Eurasia in the general area of North Siberia (hence the na ...

in the

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

is the largest (and least explored) of the Russian shelves, a region of strategic importance because of its

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

and

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

reserves. Other parts of the Russian shelf are typically named after the corresponding seas:

Barents Shelf Barents may refer to: *René Barents (born 1951), Dutch judge and legal scholar *Willem Barents (c. 1550–1597), Dutch navigator and explorer * Barents AirLink, a Swedish airline * Barents Island (), an island in the Svalbard archipelago, part o ...

(

Barents Sea Shelf Barents may refer to: *René Barents (born 1951), Dutch judge and legal scholar *Willem Barents (c. 1550–1597), Dutch navigator and explorer *Barents AirLink, a Swedish airline *Barents Island (), an island in the Svalbard archipelago, part of ...

), Chukchi Shelf (

Chukchi Sea Shelf The Chukchi Shelf or Chukchi Sea Shelf is the westernmost part of the continental shelf of the United States and the easternmost part of the continental shelf of Russia. In the west it merges with the Russian Siberian Shelf. Within this shelf, ...

), etc. With the exception of internal Russian seas, these geological shelves are shared with other countries which share the corresponding seas. For example, the Chukchi Shelf is shared between Russia and the United States according to the 1990 USA-USSR maritime boundary.

2001 extension claim

On 20 December 2001, Russia made an official submission into the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in accordance with the

(article 76, paragraph 8). In the document it is proposed to establish new outer limits of the continental shelf of Russia beyond the previous 200 nautical mile zone (370 km), but within the Russian Arctic sector. The territory claimed by Russia in the submission is a large portion of the Arctic within Russia's sector and extending to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. One of the arguments was a statement that eastern portion of the

Lomonosov Ridge The Lomonosov Ridge (, ) 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 Ellesmere Island of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.CBC NewsBroken ...

, an underwater mountain ridge extending across the polar basin, and the

Mendeleev Ridge The Mendeleev Ridge () or Mendeleev Rise is a broad ridge in the Arctic Ocean from the East Siberian Sea area of the Siberian Shelf to the central areas of the ocean. It is attached to the Alpha Ridge of the Amerasian Basin. It is named after Dm ...

are extensions of the

Eurasian continent Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents dates back to anti ...

. In 2002, the UN Commission requested that Russia submit additional scientific evidence in support of its claim.

Additional research

Additional research for the Russian claim was planned over 2007–2008 as part of the Russian program for the

International Polar Year The International Polar Years (IPY) are collaborative, international efforts with intensive research focus on the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor in 1875, but died before it first occurred ...

. The program investigated the structure and evolution of the

Earth's crust Earth's crust is its thick outer shell of rock, referring to less than one percent of the planet's radius and volume. It is the top component of the lithosphere, a solidified division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper ...

in the Arctic regions neighbouring

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, such as the regions of

Alpha Ridge The Alpha Ridge is a major volcanic ridge under the Arctic Ocean between the Canada Basin (off Ellesmere Island) and the Lomonosov Ridge. It was active during the formation of the Amerasian Basin. It was discovered in 1963. The highest elevat ...

, and

, to discover whether they were linked with the

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

n shelf. Major means of research during the expedition were the ''

Akademik Fedorov RV ''Akademik Fedorov'' () is a Russian scientific diesel-electric research vessel, the flagship of the Russian polar research fleet. It was built in Rauma, Finland for the Soviet Union and completed on 8 September 1987. It started operations ...

'' research ship, the ''

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

nuclear icebreaker A nuclear-powered icebreaker is an icebreaker with an Nuclear marine propulsion, onboard nuclear power plant that produces power for the vessel's propulsion system. Although more expensive to operate, nuclear-powered icebreakers provide a number ...

with two

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s and geological probe devices, and Il-18 aircraft with gravimetric devices. In June 2007, a group of 50 Russian scientists returned from a six-week expedition on the ''Russia'' with the news that the Lomonosov Ridge was linked to

territory, supporting Russia's claim over the oil-and-gas rich triangle. The territory contained 10 billion tonnes of gas and

deposits, the scientists said. Russian President Vladimir Putin then used this information to restate the 2001 Russian claim. On 2 August 2007, Russian explorers in a

submersible A submersible is an underwater vehicle which needs to be transported and supported by a larger ship, watercraft or dock, platform. This distinguishes submersibles from submarines, which are self-supporting and capable of prolonged independent ope ...

planted the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

on the seabed below the North Pole in symbolic support of the 2001 claim. A mechanical arm dropped a specially made

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH) ...

-proof

titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

flag onto the Arctic seabed at a depth of . Russian sub plants flag under North Pole
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

'', published 2007-08-02, accessed 2 August 2007

International reaction

In response to Russia's planting the

on the

at the North Pole, Canadian Foreign Minister

Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965), a Canadian lawyer and politician, served as Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and as Minister of Justice (Canada), Minister of Justice and Attorney General (20 ...

said, "This isn't the 15th century. You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say 'We're claiming this territory'". In response to these words the

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

of the Russian Federation

Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He is the longest-serving Russian foreign minister since Andrei Gromyko d ...

stated: "I was amazed by my Canadian counterpart's statement that we are planting flags around. We’re not throwing flags around. We just do what other discoverers did. The purpose of the expedition is not to stake whatever rights of Russia, but to prove that our shelf extends to the North Pole and beyond".

Research results

In mid-September 2007, Russia's Natural Resources Ministry issued a statement: On 4 August 2015, Russia submitted additional data in support of its bid, containing new arguments based on "ample scientific data collected in years of Arctic research", for territories in the Arctic to the United Nations. Through this bid, Russia is claiming 1.2 million square kilometers (over 463,000 square miles) of Arctic sea shelf extending more than 350 nautical miles (about 650 kilometers) from the shore. On 9 February 2016, Russia formally submitted to the United Nations a revised application with substantiated evidence of shelf claims to the Arctic Ocean seabed, including an area under the North Pole. The evidential base of this application includes geology and geophysics evidence from nine Russian scientific expeditions. They were launched by Ministry of natural resources and environmental protection in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence and Russian Academy of Sciences. It is important to note that the expeditions were performed by scientific icebreakers and submarines. Moreover, a geological office has conducted acquisitions of bathymetric multibeam sounder, integrated seismic exploration, airborne geophysical measurements and geological sampling of the main Amerasian and Eurasian basins' structures. During the work researchers used a unique technology, specially designed for difficult ice conditions. The icebreaking research vessel ''Akademik Fedorov'' was refitted specifically for seismic operations in ice thickness up to three meters. The justification of Russian claim is confirmed by the continuity of the sedimentary magnitude, elements of basal complex, as well as the overall continuity and consistency of the deep layers of the earth's crust and the absence of strike-slip transverse faults at the junction of the Lomonosov Ridge and the Eurasian continent. All collected data show the continental character of the Lomonosov Ridge, the Mendeleev-Alfa High, the Chukotka Plateau, as well as the continuous extension of these elements from the shallow Eurasian shelf.This Arctic shelf is ours
. "The Independent Barents Observer" Published 2016-08-10. On August 9, 2016, all of this evidence were presented in New York at the 41st session of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS).

References

{{Energy in Russia Borders of Russia

Energy in Russia Geography of the Arctic Governance of the Arctic Landforms of the Arctic Ocean

2001 extension claim

Additional research

International reaction

Research results

See also

References