Who owns the North Pole?

It has long been predicted that the Arctic is going to be the nexus of an international geophysical battle between the Arctic powers (Canada, Russia, Greenland/Denmark, Norway and USA). 

In fact, one has been simmering at a low level for decades now, and the main point of contention is the ownership of the Lomonosov Ridge, a huge submarine mountain range that runs from Siberia towards Greenland and Ellesmere Islands in northern Canada, pretty much incorporating the geographical north pole itself (albeit a long way under water/ice). Its Russian-sounding name is only a result of the original discovery of the ridge back in 1948 by a Russian research team; it does not mean that it is a Russian possession.

You might ask why it is even an issue, given that it is under water and not even land as we know it. Don't the sovereign rights of countries end with the Exclusive Economic Zone, 200 nautical miles (370km) from their land coast? Well, yes, but... The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf specifies that a country's territory can be deemed to extend underwater as long as there is land at a depth of no more than 2,500m which extends as a continental feature from a country's established shelf.

This might sound very specific, but official (and very expensive) studies by Russia, Greenland and Canada have all scientifically established such a link, so all three countries have a valid claim to the region (Norway and the USA make no claim on it). The UN Commission specifically declares that it will NOT involve itself in political disputes, and all three countries have signed another UN declaration that they are committed to an "orderly settlement" of Arctic border disputes (a declaration enacted after Russia unilaterally planted a flag on the seabed, claiming the North Pole for Russia, in 2007). 

So, the region remains in dispute. Russia was the first of the three countries to file its claim, which arguably puts it in a strong negotiating position, but the matter is by no means settled. Interestingly, all three countries publicly talk up the economic potential of the region although, in reality, oil and other natural resources are unlikely to be economically viable (or even technically possible) in such a remote area. And, even in a warmer ice-feee world, shipping lanes are not affected by underwater possessions. Canada and Denmark - notably, not Russia - also stress its ecological and environmental value. 

But really, its value is much more in the nebulous area of national pride (bragging rights, if you will). Canadians are used to thinking about the North Pole as being part of Canada (we learn from kindergarten that Santa lives there and has a Canadian postal code). Vladimir Putin, of course, will do anything that will aggrandize glorious Russia and his own personal brand.

All things considered, it is probably surprising that the rhetoric has been as mild as it has thus far. But maybe it's a good thing that profits are not such a major factor. Maybe the dispute will never be resolved, and that might actually be a good thing.