Extended Continental Shelf Project

Welcome to the website for the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Project! The The 2010 U.S.-Canada Continental Shelf Survey is currently underway and will continue until September 6th. Logs from the ship are coming in regularly so check often for updates!

The mission of the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Project is to establish the full extent of the continental shelf of the United States, consistent with international law. Since 2003, the United States has been gathering and analyzing data to determine its extended continental shelf, following the criteria contained in Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

This site will follow the Extended Continental Shelf survey work that is being conducted in the Arctic Ocean. For more information on other areas where the U.S. is conducting Extended Continental Shelf data collection, click here.

 

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  The Coast Guard Cutter HEALY (WAGB - 20) is United States' newest and most technologically advanced polar icebreaker.

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  Area north of Alaska surveyed by NOAA and UNH researchers during expeditions in 2003, 2004 and 2007. Credit: UNH/NOAA

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  An aerial view of the Chukchi Borderland from the north, with tracks from 2003, 2004 and 2007 mapping expeditions. Credit: UNH/NOAA

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Visit the Law of the Sea Mapping Program for data relating to all of the ECS mapping missions.