Russian submersible “Mir” will define borders of Russian “hydrocarbon” shelf in the Arctic.
      
      Forthcoming summer will see Russian scientists and experts performing first ever manned vehicle submergence to the sea bed at the North Pole as deep as 5 km.
      
      Russian scientific fleet consists of “Academic Fedorov” flag ship, scientific ships “Academic Keldysh” and “Mikhail Somov” accompanied by the ice-breaker “Rossiya”.
      
      Scientists plan two submergences: near Lomonosov and Gakkel underwater ridges. Experiments include studies of geological structure of sea bottom and defining borders of the Russian Arctic shelf with rich reserves of hydrocarbon materials.
      
      Source: Science & Life