At http://phys.org/print358755490.html … Durham University has updated a map of the Arctic sea bed which depicts the marine resources that have been discovered in recent years, all part of active collaboration between Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the US. See image below
map buffs might like to go to the link and compare this with the older map. Anyone else would need to go to the link in order to find out what the different colours signify. The interesting thing about this is that the media, hand in hand with NGOs such as Greenpeace and FOE, will present this as a wild scramble for the riches of the Arctic. In reality this is unlikely as the region is covered in ice for most of the year and oil and gas exploration is limited to coastal zones. Of course, the media, bleating in unison with the NGOs, really do seem to think the Arctic is going to become free of summer ice in the near future, and no doubt the financial world are hoping this will happen also – but it isn't happening and is most unlikely to happen, and even if it did the ice would always return each winter and they would have to wait for it to melt. The map is best treated as a geographical work that involved a lot of human endeavour – quite unlike alarmism which is entirely emotional.