Lomonosov Ridge
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Lomonosov Ridge (Хребет Ломоносова in Russian) is an underwater oceanic ridge in the Arctic Ocean. It spans for 1800 km from the New Siberian Islands over the central part of the ocean to the Ellesmere Island of the Canadian Arctic islands. The width of the Lomonosov Ridge varies from 60 to 200 km. It rises 3,300 - 3,700 m above the seabed. The minimum depth of the ocean above the ridge is 954 m. Slopes of the ridge are relatively steep, broken up by canyons, and covered with layers of silt.
The Lomonosov Ridge was first discovered by the Soviet high-latitude expeditions in 1948 and named after Mikhail Lomonosov.
The nature of the ridge has recently gained geopolitical implications, with Russia using its putative status as an extension of Siberia as a justification for territorial claims. Danish scientists also hope to prove that the ridge is in fact an extension of Greenland which would make Denmark one of the claimant to the area.
[edit] Links
- Denmark hopes to claim North Pole BBC News, 5 October, 2004. Accessed 10 November 2006.
