The race to map the Arctic Ocean seafloor is one of the last large-scale competitive mapping efforts. Conditions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes the country boundary at the end of the continental shelf, which means that each country with Arctic coastline is racing to conduct survey work to prove that their sovereignty extends far beyond their traditional borders. At stake is untold riches of oil and gas and minerals.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has produced a one-hour documentary titled, Battle for the Arctic that provides in-depth one-hour coverage of the different mapping efforts, the technology deployed, and the geopolitical ramifications. The struggle for sovereignty provides a great deal of political drama, with a good deal of science thrown in.
The program aired first on January 29th, but you can watch elements of it online.
- Trailer
- Backgrounder from the director
- The New York Times pulled together a video summary of the film
- Full 44-minute program (only available online within Canada)
