Q&A
Question #1: What is the Extended Continental Shelf Research Program?
The Government of Canada is researching Canada’s extended continental shelf in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The program is also known as UNCLOS (pronounced “un-close”), since the work is being carried out to meet criteria in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. All countries with a coastline are allowed a continental shelf out to 200 nautical miles. About 60 countries also have an extended continental shelf that goes beyond this. It’s only by conducting scientific surveys that we are able to figure out the size and location of the extended continental shelf.
Researchers from Natural Resources Canada conduct these surveys to collect data – mathematical information that shows the continental shelf under the sea. They take this information and analyze it to decide what the data from the surveys tell us. The data shows what the continental shelf looks like, what it’s made of and where it extends in the ocean. There are ship surveys using ice breakers, surveys conducted on the ice and with the help of helicopters and now a new survey method under the ice using unmanned watercrafts – Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV).
In 2013, Canada must explain what the data collected from these surveys means and give all of this information to a group referred to as the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS).
The Arctic research program is being conducted by Natural Resources Canada with the help of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada as well as the AUV expertise of Defence Research and Development Canada.
Question #2: What is an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle or AUV?
An AUV is shaped like a pencil and is a vehicle which travels underwater to perform tasks. These vehicles are designed to operate independently with computer systems onboard that make it possible for the vehicle to perform navigation and other specific tasks. AUVs are able to perform their duties “autonomously” or on their own by using a sophisticated computer as an electronic brain to perform a variety of duties such as navigate, travel, and explore under the water.
Also, this watercraft acts as an underwater vessel carrying equipment or the computer systems needed to perform specific duties in underwater areas humans cannot go. Operators are ready; sometimes hundreds of kilometres away, to assist it or send the AUV commands should it get stuck or need help.
Question #3: What is the continental shelf?
The definition of the continental shelf in UNCLOS is a bit different than the definition usually used by geologists. To a geologist, when the land mass of a continent stretches under the ocean, that is called a continental shelf. In UNCLOS, every state is allowed a continental shelf out to 200 nautical miles regardless of whether the continent’s land mass actually stretches under the ocean. When the continent does continue under the ocean beyond 200 nautical miles, UNCLOS includes the extended shelf plus the slope and the rise. See the diagram to help explain what a continent’s shelf, slope and rise look like.
Question #4: How large is the Canadian continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles?
Canada estimates that its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles covers about 1.7 million square kilometres, an area about the size of the three Prairie Provinces.
Question #5: When did Canada start to survey its continental shelf?
Canada began researching its continental shelf in 2005 to collect data from both the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The Atlantic surveys are now complete and the data is being analyzed. It is estimated that the actual Arctic surveys will be finished in 2011 and the submission made to the Commission in 2013.
Question #6: What type of research do the surveys do?
UNCLOS surveys study the shape or topography of the seabed and a second survey type studies the thickness of the deposits or the sediments of the continental shelf.
Question #7: Why do countries along the ocean need to research their extended continental shelf?
Inside 200 nautical miles from the edge of the continental shelf, countries have rights and jurisdiction over both the seabed (continental shelf) and the water (exclusive economic zone).
Within this area, the country has the right to explore, to use, to conserve, and to manage all of the resources, both living (eg: fish) and non-living (eg: minerals). The country can also look into other activities such as producing energy from the water, currents and winds. The country can install man-made structures, conduct marine scientific research, and make rules to protect and preserve the marine environment. Outside 200 nautical miles, countries only have rights and jurisdiction over the seabed – not the water.
However, countries have rights over the natural resources of the extended continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles - resources like oil, minerals, and shellfish that live on the bottom. Countries also have jurisdiction over some activities which can be carried out on the shelf, like marine scientific research. Researching the extended continental shelf helps determine where a country can exercise its rights and jurisdiction. We already know where the 200 mile zone is – you can see that line on a map of Canada. Because of this work, at some point in the future there will be a line on the map of Canada which shows the location of the extended continental shelf.