Russia's borders already reach deep into the far north, an area rich in hydrocarbons. But, based on mapping it recently completed (shown in red), Moscow would like to broaden its claims. The most contested area is the Lomonosov Ridge (shown in black): Canada, Russia, and Denmark (which controls Greenland) are all trying to prove that the ridge extends out from their continental shelves and thus the resources around it belong to them. The US wants to expand, too, and new data from surveys conducted by Jim Gardner's team suggests America has rights to a huge, but different, area of Arctic seabed.
Boundary lines are approximate.
Illustration: Chuck Carter/Paul Morin
FEATURE 
Foreigners Keep Out! High Tech Mapping Starts to Redefine International Borders
