Land Surface Is Not Enough: US Adds Huge Chunk of Sea Shelf to Its Territory
The United States has added about 1 million square kilometers of sea shelf to its continental territory. As Earth.com writes, America has bought a new basement, which is about 60% the size of Alaska.
America is bigger than it was yesterday. It's not quite the Louisiana Purchase. It's not quite the Alaska Purchase, but the new territory of land and subsoil under the United States is two Californias bigger.
- said former Alaska Lieutenant Governor and head of the US Arctic Research Commission Mead Treadwell.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) states that the extended continental shelf may include areas extending 350 nautical miles (about 648 km) from the continent or 100 miles (about 185 km) from the 2500-meter isobath (the line that connects depths of 2500 meters).
The current decision by the US authorities has completed a process that began in 2003. Thus, areas in the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans have effectively become part of the US. Washington will have the right to control and, to a certain extent, exploit oil, gas and mineral resources in these regions.
However, there are some legal difficulties in annexing the said maritime territories. For example, the US Senate has not formally ratified UNCLOS. In addition, additional scientific research may be needed to satisfy Washington's ambitions.
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