SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) The United States and Canada will conclude a joint 41-day exploration of the continental shelf and ocean basins in the Arctic, which may find evidence to support the two countries' claims to the rich oil resources sleeping under the sea floor.

    According to the U.S. State Department, two ice breakers, the U.S. coast Guard Cutter Healy and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent launched the joint mission on Aug. 7. The two ships were scheduled to cross the icy areas from the north of Alaska to Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge and eastwards toward the Canada Archipelago. The mission will conclude next Wednesday.

    DISCOVERIES

    In a telephone news conference with U.S. and Canadian reporters on Thursday, researchers on the ships announced that the U.S. scientists have mapped a mountain almost 3,600 feet high from the seafloor 8,700 feet deep, 14 miles long and four miles wide. It is some 700 miles north of Alaska, Alaska's Anchorage Daily News reported.

    Meanwhile, the Canadian researchers found a buried underwater volcano.

    Not all of the data collection relates to geopolitics. Researchers also collected water-quality samples, said the Anchorage Daily News report.

    EXTENDED CONTINENTAL SHELF

    The Arctic region is thought to bury rich undiscovered oil and gas resources. Arctic mapping has been attached great importance in recent years as global warming gradually melts down the ice caps.

    According to the UN rules, nations could claim rights to the continental shelf extending beyond their 200-nautical mile coast boundaries if they have evidence to support. For example, the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf ruled last April that Australia can expand its continental shelf by 2.5 million square km.

    Also last April, Russia claimed its extended continental shelf to the Arctic by 1.2 million square km, but the UN Commission has not approved yet and asked for more evidence to back the claim.

    The current geologic data show that the continental shelf extends for hundreds of miles off Alaska's northwestern and western coast as well as the Canadian islands in the Arctic. The discoveries of the U.S.-Canada joint mission could gear up for the two countries' claims to the region.

    However, since the United States has not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, its claim could not be recognized by other countries for the moment.