Denmark’s Article 76 fieldwork north of Greenland from 2006 to 2009. Orange stippled line – LOR ITA refraction seismic lines (2006); green line – LOMRO G I ship track (2007); red line – LOMRO G II ship track (2009), dark blue lines – bathymetric profiles acquired by helicopter during spring of 2009; light blue lines – bathymetric profiles acquired by helicopter from Oden during LOMRO G II in 2009; yellow lines – seismic lines acquired during LOMRO G I and II (2007 and 2009); white stippled lines – unofficial median lines.

Denmark’s Article 76 fieldwork north of Greenland from 2006 to 2009. Orange stippled line – LORITA refraction seismic lines (2006); green line – LOMROG I ship track (2007); red line – LOMRO G II ship track (2009), dark blue lines – bathymetric profiles acquired by helicopter during spring of 2009; light blue lines – bathymetric profiles acquired by helicopter from Oden during LOMRO G II in 2009; yellow lines – seismic lines acquired during LOMROG I and II (2007 and 2009); white stippled lines – unofficial median lines.

The area north of Greenland is one of three areas off Greenland where an extension of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) article 76, may be substantiated. However, acquisition of the technical data required for a submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), which include geodetic, bathymetric, geophysical and geological data, poses substantial logistical problems due to the severe ice conditions.

The LOMROG II cruise was organized in cooperation with the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat and the Canadian Continental Shelf Project. The main objectives of the LOMROG II cruise were:

  1. Acquisition of bathymetric data on both flanks of the Lomonosov Ridge.
  2. Acquisition of seismic data in the Amundsen and Makarov Basins.
  3. Acquisition of gravity data along Oden’s track.
  4. Accommodating research projects from, Denmark, Sweden, Greenland and the USA.

The LOMROG II cruise departed from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, on July 31, and returned on September 10. Areas with extreme ice conditions close to Greenland were avoided since the icebreaker Oden operated alone.