The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO): An Improved Morphological Framework for Oceanographic Investigations

The IBCAO initiative set out in late 1997 to assemble and merge all available bathymetric observations from northern regions, with the intent of constructing a reliable and up-to-date portrayal of the Arctic seabed in digital and printed form. In early 2000, a provisional grid and map were placed in circulation for public review and comment. Available for free downloading from a website hosted by the U.S. National Geophysical Data Center, these products won immediate acceptance from a broad spectrum of Arctic investigators who recognized the potential worth of the new information in a variety of applications ranging from straightforward map production to analysing the influence of underwater topography on ocean circulation. At the same time, error reports and new data sets were being forwarded to the creators of IBCAO, so that by the middle of 2002 a new and more definitive grid was ready to be placed into circulation. This was soon followed by the construction of a prototype shaded relief map that has been proposed as a successor to Sheet 5.17 of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO)

Continental Shelf Submissions: an Updated Record

To date, nine coastal states have presented a total of eight submissions for continental shelf extensions beyond their 200 nautical mile limits. This paper summarizes the scopes of those submissions and the stages they have attained in their examinations by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. The paper also identifies the members of the three Commissions that have been elected since 1997, and of the seven subcommissions that have been established since 2001 for the purpose of reviewing individual submissions.Hoy, nueve Estados costeros han presentado un total de ochopropuestas sumisiones para la extensión de la plataformacontinental mas allá del límite de las 200 millas náuticas. Este artículo resume losaspectos de esas sumisiones y las etapas que han logrado en sus exámenes porla Comisión de Límites de la Plataforma Continental. El artículo también identificalos miembros de las tres Comisiones que han sido elegidos desde 1997, y de lassiete subcomisiones que han sido establecidas desde el 2001 con el propósito derevisar las sumisiones individuales.A ce jour, neuf Etats côtiers ont présenté huit soumissions au total pour des extensions du plateau continental au-delà de la limite des 200 milles marins. Le présent article résume la portée de ces soumissions et les stades atteints dans l'examen par la Commission sur les limites du plateau continental. Cet article identifie également les membres des trois Commissions qui ont été élus depuis 1997, et les sept sous-commissions établies depuis 2001 dans le but de passer en revue chaque soumission

Hypsometry, Volume and Physiography of the Arctic Ocean and Their Paleoceanographic Implications

Recent analyses of the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) grid model include: Hypsometry (the distribution of surface area at various depths); ocean volume distribution; and physiographic provinces [Jakobsson 2002; Jakobsson et al., in press]. The present paper summarizes the main results from these recent studies and expands on the paleoceanographic implications for the Arctic Ocean, which in this work is defined as the broad continental shelves of the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi Seas, the White Sea and the narrow continental shelves of the Beaufort Sea, the Arctic continental margins off the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and northern Greenland. This, the Worlds smallest ocean, is a virtually land-locked ocean that makes up merely 2.6 % of the area, and 1.0 % of the volume, of the entire World Ocean. The continental shelf area, from the coastline out to the shelf break, comprises as much as 52.9 % of the total area in the Arctic Ocean, which is significantly larger in comparison to the rest of the world oceans where the proportion of shelves, from the coastline out to the foot of the continental slope, only ranges between about 9.1 % and 17.7 %. In Jakobsson [2002], the seafloor area and water volume were calculated for different depths starting from the present sea level and progressing in increments of 10 m to a depth of 500 m, and in increments of 50 m from 550 m down to the deepest depth within each of the analyzed Arctic Ocean seas. Hypsometric curves expressed as simple histograms of the frequencies in different depth bins were presented, along with depth plotted against cumulative area for each of the analyzed seas. The derived hypsometric curves show that most of the Arctic Ocean shelf seas besides the Barents Sea, Beaufort Sea and the shelf off northern Greenland have a similar shape with the largest seafloor area between 0 and 50 m. The East Siberian and Laptev seas, in particular, show area distributions concentrated in this shallow depth range, and together with the Chukchi Sea they form a large flat shallow shelf province comprising as much as 22 Besides being the world’s smallest ocean with the by far largest shelf area in proportion to its size, the Arctic Ocean is unique in terms of its physiographic setting. The Fram Strait is the only real break in the barrier of vast continental shelves enclosing the Arctic Ocean. The second largest physiographic province after the continental shelves consists of ridges, which is in contrast to the rest of the World’s oceans where abyssal plains dominate. As much as 15.8 % of the area is underlain by ridges indicating the profound effect they have on ocean circulation

Arctic Ocean Physiography

The first order physiographic provinces of the Arctic Ocean has been defined using the recently updated International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) grid model as the main database and a semi-quantitative approach. The first step in our classification of physiographic provinces is an evaluation of seafloor gradients contained in a slope model that was derived from the IBCAO grid. The slope information reveals certain seafloor process-related features, which add to the bathymetric information. Using interactive 3D-visualization, the slope and bathymetric information were simultaneously analyzed and certain slope intervals of the Arctic Ocean seafloor were found to generally characterize major physiographic provinces. This information was used for the initial classification, although in certain locations gradual changes in bottom inclination made it difficult to detect transitions between some physiographic provinces, as for example, the transition between continental rise and slope, as well as between the rise and abyssal plain. In these cases some manual intervention was required guided by generated bathymetric profiles. The areas of the provinces we classified are individually calculated, and their morphologies are subsequently discussed in the context of the geologic evolution of the Arctic Ocean Basin as described in the published literature. In summary, our study: provides a physiographic classification of the Arctic Ocean sea floor according to the most up-to-date bathymetric model and addresses the geologic origin of the prominent features as well as provides areal computations of the defined first order physiographic provinces and of the most prominent second-order features

UNCLOS Article 76 - Implementation by Smaller Developing States Entitlement, Evidence, Expertise and Expense

The stringent requirements for scientific evidence to substantiate Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) entitlement place developing states at a severe disadvantage. Most lack means and expertise to collect, interpret and present the necessary data sets unaided. The Convention's legal jargon lends itself to ambiguous constructs which may require recourse to expensive legal consultancy. States Parties to UNCLOS have recognised the continuing difficulties faced by the smaller developing States in complying with the ECS submissions deadline. Relaxation of submission timing will mitigate but not resolve these difficulties. The wider international community needs to be apprised of the issues and seek their resolution.Los exigentes requerimientos de evidencia cientifica para sostener la pertinencia de la Plataforma Continental Extendida (ECS) dejan a los paises en desarrollo ante una severa desventaja. La mayoria carece de medios y experiencia para colectar, interpretar y presentar sin ayuda, los juegos de datos necesarios. La dificultad legal de la Convenciôn lleva en si misma a ambigüedades que pueden requerir recurrir a una onerosa consultona legal. Los Estados parte de CONVEMAR han reconocido las continuas dificultades enfrentadas por los pequehos Estados en desarrollo en el cumplimiento de la fecha limite para las sumisiones a la ECS. El relajar el tiempo de sumisiôn mitigara pero no resolverâ estas dificultades. La amplia comunidad internacional necesita tomar conciencia de estos asuntos y buscar sus soluciones.Les prescriptions strictes en matière de preuves scientifiques aux fins de démontrer la pertinence de l ’extension du plateau continental (ECS) désavantagent sévèrement les pays en développement. Un grand nombre de ces pays manquent de moyens et de savoir-faire pour recueillir, interpréter et présenter sans assistance les ensembles de données nécessaires. Le jargon juridique de la Convention prête lui-même à des constructions ambiguës pouvant exiger le recours à des conseils juridiques onéreux

Earth Science and the Law of the Sea: Keys to Canada's Offshore Energy and Mineral Resources beyond 200 Nautical Miles

Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allows Canada to establish sovereignty over resources of the seabed beyond the customary 200 nautical mile limit, when certain bathymetric and geological criteria are satisfied.This paper outlines the procedures for meeting those criteria, and describes the mutual benefits that can accrue to the earth sciences and the Law of the Sea through programs for collecting and analyzing the necessary data. In the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, this work could allow Canada to extend energy and mineral jurisdiction into seabed areas that approach the size of the three Prairie Provinces combined. Résumé L'article 76 de la Convention des Nations Unies sur le droit de la mer permet au Canada d'établir sa souveraineté sur les ressources des fonds marins au-delà de la limite bien connue des 200 miles nautiques, sous réserve de certains critères bathymétriques et géologiques. Le présent article décrit les procédures auxquelles il faut se plier, de même que les retombées positives qui découlent de la cueillette et l'analyse des données nécessaires, autant pour les sciences de la Terre que pour le droit de la mer. En ce qui a trait aux océans Atlantique et Arctique, le Canada pourrait voir sa juridiction s'appliquer à un territoire dont la dimension correspondrait à peu près à l'étendue des trois provinces des Prairies ensembles

Something Old, Something New: Compiling Historic and Contemporary Data to Construct Regional Bathymetric Maps, with the Arctic Ocean as a Case Study

Regional maps that are accurate and up to date are not available for significant portions of the world ocean. Pending the advent of detailed survey operations, this situation could be partially mitigated in several areas, through judicious combinations of historical and modern data sets to yield adequate portrayals of the seafloor. This paper outlines some general principles relating to bathymetric compilations, and offers an example, by describing a recent project to construct a modern data base and map of the Arctic region

An Improved Portrayal of the Floor of the Arctic Ocean, Based on a Grid Derived from GEBCO Bathymetric Contours

Digital descriptions of sea floor relief and land topography in the Arctic are useful for scientific and illustrative purposes, however existing public-domain data sets, such as the ET0P05 grid and extracts from the GEBCO Digital Atlas, don’t lend themselves particularly well to visualization and other processes that work best with uniformly-spaced data. A technique has been developed for converting isobaths from the GEBCO Digital Atlas into a uniform 5 km X 5 km grid of depth values. At the same time, the land component of ET0P05 has been re-sampled at a similar grid spacing. When combined, these two grid sets yield convincing shaded relief portrayals of the Arctic region. The methodologies described here are not restricted to the Arctic, but may be applied with minor modification to other regions as well

The Juridical Continental Shelf In The Bay Of Bengal, According To The Statement Of Understanding

In its Final Act, the Third UN Law of the Sea Conference approved a modification of the sediment thickness rule of Article 76, enshrining it in a Statement of Understanding. This paper outlines the provisions of the Statement as they might apply in the Bay of Bengal, comparing the outcome to that derived from a strict implementation of the provisions of Article 76. It also identifies a few problem areas where legal interpretations are needed to clarify the technical criteria of the Statement and their scope of application, e.g. does the Statement apply only in the Bay of Bengal, or can it apply elsewhere?En su Acta Final, la Tercera Conferencia de las NN.UU. sobre la Ley del Mar aprobô una modificaciôn a la régla sobre el espesor de los sedimentos del Artîculo 76, englobândola en una Declaraciôn de Entendimiento. Este artîculo destaca las disposiciones de la Declaraciôn, como podrîan aplicarse a la Bahîa de Bengala, comparando los resultados con los obtenidos a partir de una implementaciôn estricta de las disposiciones del Artîculo 76. También identifica algunas âreas problemâticas en las que se necesitan interpretaciones legales para aclarar los criterios técnicos de la Declaraciôn y el âmbito de su aplicaciôn, pe. iacaso se aplica la Declaraciôn solo en la Bahîa de Bengala, o puede aplicarse en otra parte?Dans son Acte final, la troisième Conférence des NU sur le droit de la mer a approuvé une modification de l ’Article 76, concernant l'épaisseur des sédiments, garantie par un Protocole d'entente. Cet article énonce brièvement les dispositions du Protocole, telles qu’elles pourraient être appliquées dans la Baie du Bengale, en comparant le résultat avec celui obtenu à partir de la stricte mise en application des dispositions de l’Article 76. Il identifie également quelques zones qui posent problème et pour lesquelles des interprétations juridiques sont nécessaires afin de clarifier les critères techniques du Protocole et leur champ d’application, par exemple est-ce que le Protocole s ’applique uniquement à la Baie du Bengale, ou bien peut-il être appliqué ailleurs