The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
Betsy Baker, Associate Professor, Vermont Law School
The world has a set of rules about how to use the oceans: among them, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention). Most nations have signed and ratified the treaty, and even those that have not – for example, the United States – abide by the vast majority of its rules. The LOS Convention spells out the rights and duties countries have with respect to navigational rights, ocean environmental protection, the use of living and non-living resources of the ocean, marine scientific research, piracy, and how to settle disputes arising between countries about matters governed by the treaty.
Every coastal nation has greatest jurisdiction over the waters closest to its shores, known as its territorial sea. This jurisdiction diminishes as one travels away from shore, through several zones, to the High Seas. The Convention also reserves an “Area” under the High Seas not subject to any country’s jurisdiction; its mineral resources are considered to be the responsibility and resource of all, or “the common heritage of mankind.”
The LOS Convention’s rules about the ocean’s non-living resources (think: “oil and gas”) lie at the heart of the current flurry of scientific activity to map the Arctic Ocean by all five Arctic countries with coastline above the Arctic Circle – Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States. Article 77 of the Convention gives every coastal state the exclusive sovereign right to “explore and exploit” the living and non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil within a certain area that the treaty calls “the continental shelf.” This part of the treaty is concerned only with what is on or under the ocean floor; a separate part of the treaty deals with living marine resources that dwell in the water column.
Every coastal nation automatically has these exclusive rights for the seabed and subsoil that lie within 200 nautical miles of its territorial sea baseline. A party to the Convention can provide specific scientific evidence showing just how far its continental shelf extends past that 200 nm line to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), an expert body of geophysicists and hydrographers set up by the LOS Convention. The evidence must show that the “shelf” is a natural prolongation of the country’s continental landmass and must identify such things as where the shelf descends to meet the ocean floor. There are limits on how far beyond the 200 nm line a country can exercise its rights (350 nm from shore or 100 nm beyond where the water is 2500 m deep). These limits protect the common heritage “Area” from being taken up entirely by continental shelves of coastal countries. You can see a graphical representation of these limits at http://continentalshelf.gov/newsroom.html#graphics.
The United States is the only Arctic country, and indeed one of the few countries in the world, that has not yet ratified the LOS Convention. A non-party country has the same rights in its extended continental shelf as a country that has ratified the Convention, but without ratifying, the U.S. cannot submit its scientific findings to the CLCS, which means the U.S. will not have the opportunity to receive their recommendations and set ECS limits based on them. There is an benefit to considering these recommendations: according to the LOS Convention, if a coastal country establishes its ECS limits “on the basis of” CLCS recommendations, those limits are “final and binding.”
A small handful of senators has blocked ratification in the past, notwithstanding widespread support for the Convention from all branches of the military, environmental groups and industry interests. President Clinton and both Presidents Bush supported the treaty, as does the current administration. The LOS Convention is the best hope for international cooperation towards sustainable, safe, and equitable use of the world’s oceans.
New Expedition to Map the Arctic Seafloor
Reposted from USGS news release
American and Canadian scientists are setting sail this summer to map the Arctic seafloor and gather data to help define the outer limits of the continental shelf.
Each country may exercise sovereign rights over their extended continental shelf’s natural resources of the seabed and subsoil. These rights and authorities include control over minerals, petroleum and sedentary organisms such as clams, crabs and coral.
The extended continental shelf is that part of a country’s continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from shore, and its outer limits can be defined according to criteria set forth in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Data collected during this mission will help determine where these criteria are met for the United States and Canada in the Arctic Ocean.
 |
| Louis S. St. Laurent (left) and U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy (right) in the Arctic – Photo Credit USGS. |
 |
| USGS scientists Ellyn Montgomery and William Danforth discuss incoming data. Photo credit USGS, taken in 2008. |
 |
| U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic. Photo Credit USGS. |
 |
| Louis S. St. Laurent finding a path through the Arctic sea ice – Photo Credit USGS. |
The United States and Canada are working collaboratively from August 7–September 16, 2009, using two icebreakers. The U.S. Geological Survey will work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of New Hampshire on U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy to collect data primarily on seafloor depths and morphology. The Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada will lead research on the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent and gather information primarily on the thickness and characteristics of sub-bottom sediments.
“The Arctic Ocean is an area of great scientific interest, possible economic development and potential resource conservation,” said USGS scientist Deborah Hutchinson, who will be aboard the Canadian ship as a U.S. liaison. “Both countries benefit from this two-ship expedition by sharing technical expertise and data. Research in these remote areas of the Arctic Ocean is expensive, logistically difficult and sometimes dangerous.”
This mission will emphasize the region north of Alaska onto Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge and eastwards toward the Canada Archipelago. This is the second year the United States and Canada have collaborated in extended continental shelf data collection in the Arctic. Both countries plan to work together again in 2010.
Research is coordinated by the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Task Force, a government-wide group headed by the U.S. Department of State. Participants in this Task Force include the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, National Science Foundation, Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Executive Office of the President, Minerals Management Service, and the Arctic Research Commission.
For additional information, including details on the 2009 cruise and photographs and video from past missions, visit the Extended Continental Shelf Project Web site.
You will also have access to journals and photographs during this mission and from last year’s expedition at the Arctic Chronicles.
The upcoming program follows a joint 2008 U.S.-Canada survey described at Sound Waves monthly newsletter.
You can also learn more about Canada’s Extended Continental Shelf Web site.
Information on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea can be found online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Jessica Robertson, U.S. Geological Survey Public Affairs Specialist
There have been some frequently asked questions that I would like to address in today’s journal entry. These responses are from USGS scientist Jonathan Childs, chief scientist for Healy.
Disposal of waste and expendable equipment from Healy
Healy has a comprehensive recycling program onboard to avoid disposing into the ocean anything that might be environmentally harmful. Cans, bottles, batteries, cardboard, waste paper, printer paper, and especially all forms of plastic are collected and stored in deck containers for recycling or disposal on shore. Extensive precautionary measures are in place aboard Healy (and all U.S. Coast Guard vessels for that matter) to ensure that no petroleum products (oil, gas, diesel, etc.) whatsoever are ever discharged or spill into the ocean. Only biodegradable organic matter is disposed of while we are at sea.
We do use a small number of expendable scientific instruments that are designed to either sink immediately to the bottom of the ocean, or to sink after a set amount of time (usually a few hours). Unlike a great amount of material that is lost each year from commercial vessels (fishing boats or container ships for example), which may float in the ocean for years or wash ashore and contaminate beaches, these instruments are insignificant in quantity and size, and after sinking to the ocean floor are environmentally benign.
Effects of sound systems on marine wildlife
Extensive precautions are in place to prevent not only any physical harm to marine mammals, but to minimize even the possible affects our sound sources might have on the behavior of marine mammals. There is a team of three lookouts on the Louis whose sole duty is to watch for marine mammals. There are also two lookouts (or “observers”) on the Healy. Most of these observers are from the Canadian and Alaskan native communities, and they are experts at spotting and identifying marine life on the ice.
The ships have carefully designed procedures for starting up the acoustic sound sources. For example, the airguns are not started if a marine mammal has been observed anywhere in the vicinity of the ship for 30 minutes. The airgun array is not started all at once, but gradually “ramped up” to avoid the possibility that an animal we can’t see underwater will suddenly be affected by the sound at full strength. And, if any marine mammals are observed within 1 nautical mile (about 6,080 feet) of the ships, the system is turned off until the animal has left the area, or the ship has traveled out of the animal’s range. Similarly, the ships make every attempt to minimize disturbance to polar bears. We avoid approaching closer than 1 mile to any bears that we see. In numerous scientific studies, the various sound sources we use have never been shown to have any detrimental effect on fish.
I hope this clarifies some of your questions. Check back soon for updates on data collection and the final leg of our journey!
Until next time,
Jessica Robertson
-
- Waiting to board the helicopter and visit Louis. From left to right: USGS scientist Jonathan Childs, chief scientist for Healy; U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Douglas Petrusa; Canadian Coast Guard Captain John Stewart; and U.S. Coast Guard Captain Frederick Sommer.
-
- Beautiful moon over the Arctic Ocean. The pink rays in the sky are from the sunset. You could see the moon and the sun in the sky at the same time, but I could not capture both in one photograph.
-
- Sunrise over the Arctic Ocean.
-
- U.S. Coast Guard crew welcomes visitors from Louis.
-
- My desk in my room on Healy. Ellyn’s desk is to the left of mine.
-
- Here is part of my room on Healy. You can see our bunk beds and couch.
Welcome to Arctic Chronicles
This journal will document my journey to one of the most unexplored areas in the world—the Arctic—as I accompany scientists on an expedition to map the seafloor. This will be a collaborative effort between the U.S. and Canada.
I will be joining the USGS portion of this research onboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy from September 6 to October 1, 2008.
My journey will take me from Washington, DC, to Barrow, Alaska, and then on to Healy by helicopter. Once we set sail, I will write and submit photographs to this blog on a regular basis and gather video I will share once I return. You can follow along with the journey using the Follow the Journey button at the top of the page.
Check back soon for updates!
Follow the Journey
Participating Organizations
