Ben Saunders

The Big Melt

The New York Times has published a huge series of articles on the Arctic, and the future of the Arctic. (You may need to register/log in, but it's worth it.) There are some fascinating observations on how the thinning of Arctic sea ice might have commercial and social implications on a global scale. A few things surprised me:

1) China has established a research station on Spitsbergen and its icebreaker Snow Dragon has been to the North Pole twice.

2) A quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas resources lie in the Arctic, according to the United States Geological Survey.

3) Depending on how the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea pans out, the North Pole might end up in Russian or Danish territories.

4) The Candian port of Churchill was bought by Pat Broe in 1997 for just $10. It now looks set to become one of the busiest Arctic ports in the world.

(Thanks to Maria Coryell-Martin for the link.)

— Filed under Miscellany