What valuable resource is being obtained from the continental shelf off Alaska and Canada in the Arctic Ocean?

The natural resources of the Arctic are the mineral and animal resources within the Arctic Circle that can provide utility or economic benefit to humans. The mineral resources include major reserves of oil and natural gas, large quantities of minerals including iron ore, copper, nickle, zinc phosphates and diamonds.

Explanation:

The Arctic resources race refers to the competition between global entities for newly available natural resources of the Arctic. Under the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, five nations have the legal right to exploit the Arctic’s natural resources within their exclusive economic zones: Canada, Russia, Denmark, Norway, and the United States (though the U.S. has yet to ratify the treaty, it considers the treaty to be customary international law and abides by it).

The Arctic region and its resources have recently been at the center of controversy and pose potential conflicts between nations that have differing opinions of how to manage the area, including conflicting territorial claims. In addition, the Arctic region is home to an estimated 400,000 indigenous people. If the ice continues to melt at the current rate, then these indigenous people are at risk of being displaced. The acceleration of ice depletion will contribute to climate change as a whole: melting ice releases methane, ice reflects incoming solar radiation, and without it will cause the ocean to absorb more radiation (albedo effect), heating up the water causing more ocean acidification, and melting ice will cause a rise in sea level.

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