*** Arctic Opportunity
A crew of scientists aboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy began mapping America's Arctic claim this week. Global warming is thawing out the ice, and there is plenty of open water in formerly ice-locked passageways.
Oddly enough, we know less about the Arctic seabed than we do about the topography of Mars. Every time a new seafloor map is made, new things are discovered -- unsuspected seamounts, vast canyons and sea slides. The area the U.S. is mapping is bigger than France and could hold loads of natural resources.
"It holds potential riches beyond your imagination," said James Gardner, a marine geologist involved in the mapping.
A crew of scientists aboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy began mapping America's Arctic claim this week. Global warming is thawing out the ice, and there is plenty of open water in formerly ice-locked passageways.
Oddly enough, we know less about the Arctic seabed than we do about the topography of Mars. Every time a new seafloor map is made, new things are discovered -- unsuspected seamounts, vast canyons and sea slides. The area the U.S. is mapping is bigger than France and could hold loads of natural resources.
"It holds potential riches beyond your imagination," said James Gardner, a marine geologist involved in the mapping.
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