scholarly journals Legal issues and prospects for delimitation of continental shelf in the Arctic

Author(s):  
Elena Nikolaevna Moroz

This article is dedicated to the relevant problem of delimitation of the Arctic territories. There are currently several different approaches towards this question, but the effective one is the mechanism proposed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The absence of consensus on delimitation of continental shelf is substantiated by the intersection of interests of the countries in the Arctic region and strategically crucial consequences of dividing the Arctic: this is the matter of national security, geopolitical supremacy, increase of economic potential, energy and environmental security. The goal of this research consists in the analysis of recent achievements and prospects for delimitation of continental shelf. The subject of this article is the problems of delimitation of the jurisdiction of countries in the Arctic region. Methodological framework is comprised of the chronological method and method of analysis. The conclusion is made that the definition of state boundaries in the Arctic is a long process; since the decisions of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf is of advisory nature, it may lead to the disputes between the countries over the rendered decisions. It should be noted that international law has the essential mechanisms and means for the peaceful delimitation of maritime boundaries in Arctic waters. The author believes that the final definition of boundaries in the Arctic would be achieved through the compromise between the polar countries, and thus signing bilateral agreements without relying on recommendations of the Commission. It is underlined that the conventional principle of delimitation of boundaries in the Arctic Ocean does not meet the national interests of the Arctic Five, and requires a different approach due to the peculiarities of the ocean. The scientific novelty lies in the analysis of existing principles, instruments and problems of delimitation of boundaries in the Arctic, as well as in conclusions formulated by the author. The solution to the outlined problems can become the preservation of the international seabed within the framework of the concept common heritage of mankind in the area of the Gakkel Ridge, and in the area of Lomonosov Ridge delineation by the sectoral principle.

Author(s):  
Artem Olegovich Kuzmenko

The subject of this research is national interests of the Russian Federation in the Arctic region. Russia's national interests in the Arctic are versatile and quite complex, representing an intersection of the spheres of national interests of Russia as a whole and such particular vectors as the World Ocean, economic sphere, border zone, etc. They are delineated with different degree of specification in a range of normative legal and other documents. Systematization of national interests, factors and threats in the Arctic zone, as well as understanding of their interrelation is an important step in ensuring national security of Russia in the Arctic Region. The analysis of normative legal acts allows systematizing the factors influencing the activity of federal executive branches in the Arctic, as well as outlining the threats to national security of Russia in the Arctic Region. The author analyzes correlation between the factors and threats to Russia's national interests and the vectors of activity of the federal executive branches on their neutralization. Such approach towards interdependence of factors, interests, and vectors of activity is of comprehensive, which discerns it from other existing approaches. The parallel is drawn between the indicated correlation and the dual layer neural network. The author assesses the feasibility of the proposed original approach for estimating the impact of activity of the federal executive branches on ensuring national interests, and offers relevant recommendations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 971 (5) ◽  
pp. 15-22
Author(s):  
N.S. Kopylova ◽  
I.P. Starikov

In this article we discuss methods of displaying geospatial information for the Arctic region and the continental shelf using various web technologies in order to solve applied tasks associated with the development of the regional infrastructure. The assessment of the main projections’ metric capabilities basic for cartographic services is carried out, and the functionality of search and demonstration tasks that can be solved by means of such information systems is determined. The necessity of optimizing the approach to data design is noted. The proposed method for displaying geospatial information in the form of a single unified isometric cartographic projection will enable determining the position of objects within the planned accuracy of topographic maps at scale of 1


Author(s):  
Nikita Tananaev ◽  
Roman Teisserenc ◽  
Matvey Debolskiy

Permafrost hydrology is an emerging discipline, attracting increasing attention as the Arctic region is undergoing rapid change. However, the research domain of this discipline had never been explicitly formulated. Both 'permafrost' and 'hydrology' yield differing meanings across languages and scientific domains, hence 'permafrost hydrology' serves as an example of linguistic relativity. The differing views of permafrost as either an ecosystem class or a geographical region, and hydrology as a discipline concerned with either landscapes or generic water bodies, maintain a language-specific touch in the definition of permafrost hydrology. From this point of view, the English and Russian usage of this term is explained. A universal process-based definition is further proposed, developed on a specific process assemblage, including (i) water table dynamics caused by migration of an upper aquitard through freeze–thaw processes; (ii) water migration in soil matrix, driven by phase transitions in the active layer; (iii) transient water storage in solid state in the subsurface compartment. This definition is shown to fill the niche in existing vocabulary, and other definitions from northern hydrology field are revisited.


Author(s):  
Sofia Khusainova

The subject of this research is the policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic. The object is Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023. The author meticulously analyzes the positions of the state, taking into account national interests and peculiarities of the current international situation in the region. The article examines the domestic legislative acts adopted for regulation of the Arctic Region, as well as international documents aimed at sustainable development of the North. The conditions of collective security dictate moderate and clearly defined policy in the Arctic, which is the central arena for political action with the leading role of the Russian Federation until 2023. The conclusion is drawn that the Arctic Region is currently the most relevant vector of the policy of northern states. Chairmanship of the Russian Federation imposes enormous responsibility on the country, as despite the overall state of security in the region, there remains a range of unresolved issues. The attempts of institutionalization of the Arctic Council may become an implicit threat for the Russian Federation; this is why the systematization of domestic legislation and foreign policy actions on maintaining the health of ecosystem, cultural heritage, and environmental policy have become the priority vectors in the first year of Russia’s chairmanship. The overall responsibility of the leading actor the Arctic does not exclude the existence of classic threats to the security of state’s sovereignty, which requires accurate planning in subsequent years of the chairmanship.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 8549-8570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Prados-Roman ◽  
Laura Gómez-Martín ◽  
Olga Puentedura ◽  
Mónica Navarro-Comas ◽  
Javier Iglesias ◽  
...  

Abstract. For decades, reactive halogen species (RHSs) have been the subject of detailed scientific research due to their influence on the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere and on the climate. From the RHSs, those containing bromine are of particular interest in the polar troposphere as a result of their link to ozone-depletion events (ODEs) and to the perturbation of the cycle of toxic mercury, for example. Given its remoteness and related limited accessibility compared to the Arctic region, the RHSs in the Antarctic troposphere are still poorly characterized. This work presents ground-based observations of tropospheric BrO from two different Antarctic locations: Marambio Base (64∘13′ S, 56∘37′ W) and Belgrano II Base (77∘52′ S, 34∘7′ W) during the sunlit period of 2015. By means of MAX-DOAS (Multi-axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) measurements of BrO performed from the two research sites, the seasonal variation in this reactive trace gas is described along with its vertical and geographical distribution in the Antarctic environment. Results show an overall vertical profile of BrO mixing ratio decreasing with altitude, with a median value of 1.6 pmol mol−1 in the lowest layers of the troposphere. Additionally, observations show that the polar sunrise triggers a geographical heterogeneous increase in bromine content in the Antarctic troposphere yielding a maximum BrO at Marambio (26 pmol mol−1), amounting to 3-fold the values observed at Belgrano at dawn. Data presented herein are combined with previous studies and ancillary data to update and expand our knowledge of the geographical and vertical distribution of BrO in the Antarctic troposphere, revealing Marambio as one of the locations with the highest BrO reported so far in Antarctica. Furthermore, the observations gathered during 2015 serve as a proxy to investigate the budget of reactive bromine (BrOx = Br + BrO) and the bromine-mediated ozone loss rate in the Antarctic troposphere.


Author(s):  
Bernhard M¨uhlherr ◽  
Holger P. Petersson ◽  
Richard M. Weiss

This chapter focuses on the fixed points of a strictly semi-linear automorphism of order 2 of a spherical building which satisfies the conditions laid out in Hypothesis 30.1. It begins with the fhe definition of a spherical building satisfying the Moufang condition and a Galois involution of Δ‎, described as an automorphism of Δ‎ of order 2 that is strictly semi-linear. It can be recalled that Δ‎ can have a non-type-preserving semi-linear automorphism only if its Coxeter diagram is simply laced. The chapter assumes that the building Δ‎ being discussed is as in 30.1 and that τ‎ is a Galois involution of Δ‎. It also considers the notation stating that the polar region of a root α‎ of Δ‎ is the unique residue of Δ‎ containing the arctic region of α‎.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mika Rantanen ◽  
Alexey Karpechko ◽  
Antti Lipponen ◽  
Kalle Nordling ◽  
Otto Hyvärinen ◽  
...  

Abstract In recent decades, the warming in the Arctic has been much faster than in the rest of the world, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification (AA). Numerous studies report that Arctic is warming either twice, more than twice, or even three times as fast as the globe on average. However, the lack of consensus of AA definition precludes its precise quantification. Here we show, by using several observational datasets which cover the Arctic region and adopting a simple definition of AA, that during the last 40 years the Arctic has been warming almost four times faster than the globe as a whole, which is a higher ratio than generally reported in literature. Furthermore, we compared the observed AA ratio to the ratio simulated by state-of-the-art climate models, and show that the models largely underestimate the present AA, a finding that is not very sensitive to the exact definition of AA. The underestimation of AA by climate models most likely results from their inability to realistically simulate feedback mechanisms between sea ice melt and atmospheric temperatures. Our results imply that the underestimated AA leads to biased projections of climate change both in the Arctic and mid-latitudes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 955
Author(s):  
Marina L. BELONOZHKO ◽  
Oleg M. BARBAKOV ◽  
Lyudmila K. GABISHEVA

The paper deals with the analysis of specific parameters of reciprocal influence between man and the Arctic environment, the formulation of the theoretic provisions, as well as the development of the scientific conclusions regarding the definition of the perspectives and peculiarities of the Arctic Region environmental development under conditions of globalization and the world environmental crisis. As the results of the conducted research, the authors revealed and generalized the scientific approaches towards the definition of the legal status of the Arctic; stated the legal contents and the meaning of the basic environmental standards and programs of the international legislation regarding the Arctic Region; considered the spheres of influence of the states on the Arctic territory and on the environmental situation of this region in general; characterized the environmental conditions for living of the Arctic population; and defined the nature of the adverse anthropogenic effect on the environment of the investigated region. The analysis of the literature helped to formulate the theoretical conclusions, to develop the practical recommendations and to forecast the long-run perspectives and peculiarities of the Arctic environmental development. It is substantiated that the reciprocal influence between man and the environment in the territory of the Arctic Region moves towards a qualitatively new stage, which forces the states to adopt the strategical decisions in the sphere of the reclamation of the Arctic Region only considering the preservation of the ecosystem, provision of the proper living quality of the Arctic population, as well as the environmentalization of all the kinds of economic activities in the region. The paper contains the scientific substantiation and proposes the development of the Concept of Sustainable Development and Preservation of the Ecosystem for the Arctic Region, which will also include the monitoring system for the condition of the Arctic.


Polar Record ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 17 (108) ◽  
pp. 237-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Curry-Lindahl

In reviewing the conservation of Arctic fauna, it may be useful to describe what is meant, geographically and ecologically, by the word Arctic, as it is used here. Geographical boundaries are not often the same as ecological boundaries, and the Arctic Circle itself has no zoogeographical significance. Permanently ice-covered land and treeless lands with permanently frozen subsoil in the Northern Hemisphere would be included in any definition of the Arctic region, and in northern countries the timber line constitutes a satisfactory southern limit for the region in question. In mountains, it is altitude rather than latitude that gives an Arctic character to climate and landscape, as in the Urals, the mountain chain of Scandinavia (south to 59°N) and eastern Siberia, and the Rocky Mountains of North America.


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