The Science of Surveying Under the Sea

How does Canada determine where it can exercise its sovereign rights over its continental shelf?  This is accomplished though Earth sciences -  more precisely through bathymetric and seismic surveying.  It takes special, dedicated geoscientists who want to know more about the exact distance Canada’s land mass extends under the ocean.  The question is, how far does it extend beyond 200 nautical miles thereby giving Canada the exclusive rights to the resources on and below the seabed in this area?

Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and partner scientists from the United States are spending 40 days of summer in the icy Western Arctic Ocean, to collect bathymetric and seismic data.  The task is daunting, but the potential is enormous.

From August to September 2011, Canadian and US scientists are embarking on their fourth joint survey to collect additional data under the sea-ice in the Arctic.  This data will form part of Canada’s submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS sets out an orderly process by which Canada may definitively determine the outer limits of its continental shelf which is useful for potential resource development.  The purpose of the joint survey with the US will be to collect data in areas in the Arctic that are of interest to both countries.

The 2011 survey aims to go father north, covering areas of the Arctic that have seldom if ever been surveyed before. In addition, it will be the first time that the program will launch an AUV off of a ship (in previous missions, the AUV was launched from ice floes). If successful, this fourth survey should provide the remaining data Canada needs to fulfill its information needs for the submission to the United Nations Commission on the Law of the Sea (CLCS).

The data collected to date is currently being processed and analyzed. Initial analysis has shown that Canada potentially has a large extended continental shelf in both the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.

Natural Resources Canada continues to work with Fisheries and Oceans Canada as well as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.