Canada Embarks on Arctic Survey Mission
CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent (File photo: Canadian Coast Guard)
(Image: Government of Canada)
Canada has launched its 2016 Arctic expedition to collect important scientific information to support the nation’s submission on the extended continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean. This year’s survey is a collaborative effort with Sweden, and Danish scientists will also participate in the research.
The Canadian icebreaker CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent left Dartmouth on July 22, 2016, for Tromsø, Norway, where it will take on board personnel from Natural Resources Canada’s Geological Survey of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Canadian Hydrographic Service and Global Affairs Canada before embarking on a six-week expedition in the Arctic Ocean.
On the voyage between Canada and Norway, the Canadian Hydrographic Service will undertake a seabed-mapping expedition under the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance. This will be the fifth such expedition, which involves Canada, the European Union and the United States.
After the Canada-Sweden expedition ends, Canadian researchers aboard the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent will go on to collect data in the Canada Basin, in the western Arctic Ocean, as part of a collaboration with colleagues from the United States.
“Securing international recognition of the outer limits of Canada’s continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean is a Canadian priority,” said Stéphane Dion, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs. “Our collaboration with Sweden, Denmark and the United States is a prime example of positive cooperation in the region.”
Jim Carr, Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, said, “The work of our scientists and researchers on this survey, in collaboration with our Swedish partners, is vital to improving our collective knowledge of the Arctic and supporting the science that enables sound, evidence-based decisions. Our government is proud to support this important research to gather necessary data to help determine the outer limits of Canada’s continental shelf.”
“Collaboration with our international partners strengthens Canada’s ability to make decisions based on sound science. With the combined scientific expertise of the Canadian Hydrographic Service and the professional navigation know-how of the Canadian Coast Guard, this scientific survey will increase our knowledge of the seabeds of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and contribute to Canada’s submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf,” said Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
