Canada, Russia to Benefit from Arctic Riches: Scientist says both countries would gain rights, but claims could take decades. The scientist responsible for preparing Russia's claim to seabed rights at the top of the world says Canada and his country are both poised to reap staggering economic benefits when a deal is finally struck on who owns title to what in the northern ocean. "Canada has a wonderful shelf and basin, so of course Canada can get very rich from this," said Viktor Posy-olov, deputy director of Russia's Institute of World Ocean Geology and the head of its Arctic research program. Montreal Gazette

  

Could the Ocean Help Power Alaska? As energy companies race to reap the benefits of Arctic oil, other parts of Alaska are charging into new energy technologies. In False Pass, researchers have initiated a project that explores the potential power of ocean currents. Much like wind turbines harness the massive moving energy of air currents, underwater turbines lasso the energy created by water currents. Alaska is lacking in neither natural phenomenon, said scientist Bruce Wright. Alaska Dispatch

 

Russian Research Design Multi-Hull Icebreaker. According to the head of the marine research laboratory at the Krylov Scientific Center, Kirill Sazonov, one of the main objectives affecting development of hydrocarbon production at Russia's freezing sea shelf is the foundation of a sea transport system. Cost estimates show that such a system can be effective only if supertankers are used, however present-day icebreakers are not capable of breaking a wide enough way for these giant tankerships. The Krylov Scientific Center analyzed offers by Finnish experts to design an asymmetric icebreaker and an icebreaker with outriggers, but these solutions were considered not able to settle the problem. Due to nonlinear dependence of ice resistance on the hull width, the use of an asymmetric icebreaker needs a considerable expansion in power output. An icebreaker with outriggers also has disadvantages because of increased ice resistance caused through the constraining motion of ice between the icebreaker's hull and the outriggers. MarineLink 

 

Does the Arctic Council Have What it Takes to Guide Northern Policy? [Opinion] A 16-year-old squadron of eight nations in a brand new, minuscule headquarters in a remote city well north of the Arctic Circle is becoming an exemplar of how groups of countries can relate and interrelate over issues of territory, security and resources. The Arctic Council comprised of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Canada and the US was established in 1996 and, to date, has been populated more by scientists and scholars than by statesmen. Now like a very good dog sled leader, the Council is breaking new trails for the Arctic and the High North. Alaska Dispatch

 

Succession of Storms Doesn't Give Kivalina a Break to Fix Water Pipe. It appears that for now, residents of the Northwest Alaska village of Kivalina have lost the water race against time. City officials have fought for weeks to get the remote city's water tanks filled, working hard to get the school open and water running before cold weather set in. An August flood damaged the water pipe usually used for this task. While school did open last week after the tanks had begun to fill and water was turned on at the school, Mother Nature threw in another hurdle before the project could be completed. Yet another fall storm brought back high waters last week to the Arctic village, said Kivalina City Administrator Janet Mitchell, and the equipment needed to expedite the job came a little too late. Alaska Dispatch

 

Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media recently released the following film explaining rapid loss of Arctic sea ice. Video