Use of a Submarine in Ice-Covered Arctic Waters to Help Delimit the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Page: 1 of 17
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USE OF A SUBMARINE IN ICE-COVERED ARCTIC WATERS TO HELP DELIMIT
THE U.S. EXTENDED CONTINENTAL SHELF
(Draft White Paper from the U.S. Arctic Research Commission)
(Rev. 12-18-07)
I. PURPOSE. This White Paper describes the role(s), value, and preparation requirements for a
U.S. Navy nuclear submarine (SSN) to collect geophysical data, and especially multi-channel
seismic reflection (MCS) data, in the Arctic Ocean that are necessary to delimit the U.S.
extended continental shelf (ECS). The ECS is the area that lies beyond our 200 nautical mile
(nm) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as defined in Article 76 in the 1982 Convention on the
Law of the Sea (CLOS), hereafter "Convention." To provide a fallback option to data collection
from surface vessels, and to increase the likelihood of timely completion of the data collection
effort, the U.S. should conduct an engineering feasibility study of submarines as platforms from
which to collect geophysical data. Traditional means of collecting MCS data (from surface
vessels) are often compromised (such as the Danish-Russian joint effort in 2007 or Healy 06-02)
or even precluded in the ice-infested waters of the high Arctic Ocean. The best interests of the
U.S. will be served by acquiring MCS and other geophysical data in optimal locations,
unhindered by sea ice, to best support an ECS delimitation.
II. BACKGROUND. As of December 2007, 157 nations, excluding the U.S., have acceded to
the 1982 Convention. Although the U.S. is not yet a party, we accept the substantive provisions
of the Convention and comply with them as elements of customary international law. Sixty
nations are considered to have an ECS, including those few nations that have not yet acceded.
The Convention allows coastal states a 10-year deadline from the date of
ratification/accession to collect data and submit the basis upon which the state's ECS would be1
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U.S. Arctic Research Commission. Use of a Submarine in Ice-Covered Arctic Waters to Help Delimit the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf, text, December 18, 2007; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc949045/m1/1/: accessed March 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.