Exploring for extended continental shelf claims off Greenland and the Faroe Islands – geological perspectives

Following the expected ratification in 2004 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS from 1982), Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands have a period of maximum 10 years to make claims beyond 200 nautical miles (NM) in five potential areas off Greenland and the Faroe Islands (Fig. 1). In order to provide the necessary database, the Danish Continental Shelf Project has been launched by the Ministry for Science, Technology and Innovation in cooperation with the Faroese and Greenland Home Rule governments. Several institutions are participating in this project, with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) as the coordinator of the technical work for the Greenland part of the project, and sharing the responsibility for coordination of the Faroese part with the Faroese Geological Survey (JFS).