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Russia at Forefront of Arctic Land-Grab NEWS NATURE|Vol 448|2 August 2007 SCORECARD Stem cells on the ISS NASA’s decision to include privately funded research on the International Space Station from 2011 could see stem cells, and other biomed products, going into space. Russia at forefront of Everything else at NASA With charges of drunken astronauts and lost and sabotaged equipment, NASA Arctic land-grab has more pressing concerns to address before turning to next decade’s bioethics issues. Marine scientists are voicing concerns that in geological and polar research. “Access is their research may be jeopardized by the inter- already a problem,” says Mead Treadwell, chair national scrum to claim the Arctic seabed. of the US Arctic Research Commission. “We’ve ON THE RECORD Last week, Russia highlighted its claims to a looked at maps which show there could be very The toes date from vast chunk by sending a mission to drop a tita- little free space left in the Arctic Ocean.” “ nium capsule with a Russian flag on the seabed Anders Karlqvist, director of the Swedish between 1000 and 600 underneath the North Pole. Canada, Norway, Polar Research Secretariat, agrees. “It will prob- bc, so if we can prove the United States and Denmark (on behalf of ably mean research will be more regulated in they were functional Greenland) are also preparing claims. terms of getting permission and documentation we will have pushed The 1982 United Nations Convention on that goes through various organizations in the the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) allows states an countries concerned. And if the political climate back prosthetic economic zone that extends 200 nautical miles changes it may lead to research restrictions.” medicine by as much as from their coastline. To increase But the contest is providing 700 years. this, countries must prove to “There could be very plenty of work for some marine Biomedical egyptologist” Jacky Finch the United Nations Commis- little free space left in geologists in the run-up to many of the University of Manchester, UK, sion on the Limits of the Con- the Arctic Ocean.” countries’ deadline for submis- who is studying ancient Egyptian big tinental Shelf that their physical sions of May 2009. “I’ve never toes, made of wood and leather, from museums in Cairo and London. She’s continental margin extends farther than this. worked so hard on strategic policy as now,” says looking for people who have lost If Moscow can prove that the structure of the Lindsay Parson, who leads the UNCLOS Group their right big toe and wouldn’t mind continental shelf under the ocean is geologically at the United Kingdom’s National Oceanogra- helping to test out a modern replica. similar to that of Russian land, it may be able phy Centre in Southampton. to extend its territory. The Lomonosov Ridge, To prove their claims, countries need to col- OVERHYPED which it sees as a continental extension, is key lect bathymetric data that accurately describe to its claims. Russia hopes to claim 1.2 million the underwater lie of the land and seismic data Oscar, the cat of doom square kilometres and, with it, the rights to copi- on the structure of the sea floor. These data can If you believe the news, the cat ous mineral and fossil-fuel reserves. Estimates be used to determine where the continental shelf who can “predict death” at a Rhode Island nursing home has vary, but some suggest that the Arctic contains off a country’s coast falls away in a ‘continental “left doctors baffled”. And so, as much as 25% of the world’s oil reserves. slope’ and how far sediments derived from the abetted by the A successful claim would not allow nations land extend out beyond the foot of that slope. New England to control water above the seabed, but anyone The sea floor can be claimed if it is sedimentary Journal of doing research on the ocean floor would need rock at least 1% as thick as its distance from the Medicine, permission, which worries some involved foot of the continental slope. These measure- where the story first appeared, summer’s silly season New life for nuclear warheads for ‘science’ stories The US Department of Energy facility will help to dispose of agreement with Russia. The begins. is starting construction of a dangerous weapons material technique blends plutonium controversial facility to recycle safely. But sceptics, including with uranium so that it can ZOO NEWS S. MILNE/AP nuclear warheads. some key members of be burned in conventional On 1 August, work finally Congress, balk at its enormous light-water reactors. Dozens Tentacle treasure began on a US$4.8 billion cost and question whether of European reactors run on An octopus found with a porcelain mixed-oxide fuel-fabrication it will improve the nation’s mixed-oxide fuel made from plate stuck to its suckers has facility at the Savannah River nuclear security. old commercial fuel, according led archaeologists to a hoard of Site in South Carolina. The Since the 1990s, the to Matthew Bunn, a non- ancient pottery shipwrecked in a plant will convert surplus, department has touted proliferation expert at Harvard twelfth-century boat off the coast of South Korea. weapons-grade plutonium mixed-oxide fuel as the best University in Cambridge, into fuel for sale to commercial way to dispose of 34 tonnes Massachusetts. Sources: The Scientist, power reactors in North and of highly enriched plutonium The US plant design is [email protected], EurekAlert, BBC, South Carolina. sitting in the US stockpile, actually a smaller version Supporters claim that the to fulfil its disarmament of the commercial French SIDELINES N. Engl. J. Med. 520 NATURE|Vol 448|2 August 2007 NEWS the Arctic Ocean between Rus- Bering Agreed borders sia and Canada. Russia claims Sea Unsettled borders this ridge is an extension of its 200-nautical-mile Siberian shelf, but this is hotly line (from coast) contested by Canada and oth- US Russian claimed ers. On 29 July, Russia sent two CANADA territory mini-submarines, Mir-1 and Mir-2 to a depth of 1.3 kilome- Arctic tres in the first-ever Arctic test dives to gather data to boost its Ocean e g id claims. The subs are part of an R ov expedition to the North Pole s no mo involving a 100-strong team of Lo RUSSIA North Russian scientists aboard the Pole Academician Fedorov, the flag- ship vessel of the Federal Serv- ice for Hydrometeorology and GREENLAND Environment Monitoring. (Denmark) Barents Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Sea NORWAY Minister Stephen Harper has announced plans to spend around Can$7 billion (US$6.5 ments require input from geologists and ocea- billion) on up to eight new reinforced Arctic nographic experts. If there is no sedimentary patrol vessels. “Canada has a choice when it rock, a country is only entitled to claim an addi- comes to defending our sovereignty in the Arc- tional 60 nautical miles out. tic; either we use it or we lose it,” Harper said. Satellite sensing is useless for imaging the “And make no mistake, this government intends seabed because of the overlying water, and to use it. Because Canada’s Arctic is central to our Arctic research is further complicated by sea identity as a northern nation. It is part of our his- ice. Even when data can be gleaned by research tory and it represents the tremendous potential ships, interpretation is tricky. “In many cir- of our future.” Canada is claiming 1.75 million cumstances around the world when the ocean square kilometres of the Arctic seabed. basins form and these ridges get stranded out The Arctic is not the only contentious sea- in the middle of the ocean, it’s not easy to say bed. Countries around the world, including whether there’s a greater attachment at one end New Zealand, Brazil and Ireland, have already of the ridge or the other,” notes Parson. submitted claims to the United Nations. Parson In 2001, Russia became the first country to is involved in the United Kingdom’s four claims make a submission to the United Nations. It was — one, which concerns the Bay of Biscay, will told to supply more information, in particular be submitted by the end of August. ■ about the Lomonosov Ridge, which runs under Daniel Cressey Melox reprocessing facility But the Russians have backed storage, Secretary of Energy at Marcoule. Engineers have away from the plan in recent Samuel Bodman told Congress. modified the design slightly to years, Kimball says. Bunn disagrees, in part handle weaponized plutonium The US plant has also been because the department will alloys, and they have beset by policy reviews, a be storing other plutonium reduced shielding because lengthy licensing process and anyway. “The cost of having a weapons-grade isotopes are congressional opposition. It few extra bunkers is actually less radioactive than spent is now more than a decade very modest,” he says. commercial fuel. behind schedule, and Which side Congress will The programme gained construction costs have take remains to be seen. The political momentum in part ballooned by nearly 400% Senate is proposing roughly because Russia was planning to since 2002. $390 million for construction build a sister facility to convert Nevertheless, department in fiscal year 2008, but House an equal amount of its own officials stand by the appropriators want to give plutonium surplus, according programme. In addition to it just $168 million. A final to Daryl Kimball, executive fulfilling their disarmament compromise is expected to be director of the Arms Control obligations, the plan will reached later this autumn.
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