Canada launches new search for Franklin expedition's lost ships

Canada's Environment Minister John Baird said, "An actual discovery of these wrecks would offer unprecedented information on the exploration of Canada's north and the discovery of the Northwest Passage -- a critical piece of our shared history and important to present and future generations."

The expedition is to begin on Monday aboard the Canadian Coast Guard ice-breaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Baird and Fisheries and Oceans Minister Loyola Hearn announced.

Franklin's ill-fated expedition is credited with discovering the Northwest Passage, linking the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The British explorer and some 130 men set sail aboard the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror in 1845, and were never seen again.

Numerous search parties over the next decades and into the 20th century pieced together the fate of the expedition, whose members apparently perished from exposure, starvation, disease, and possibly lead poisoning, the result of eating food from poorly sealed tin cans.

The two ships, frozen in ice northwest of King William Island, have never been found.

Canada's expedition, which will be undertaken during the August-September period over each of the next three years, should also contribute to mapping the uncharted waters of the strategic zone, the Canadian ministers said.

Interest in the Northwest Passage has grown as climate change has melted Arctic ice, making the route navigable in the northern hemisphere summer.

Canada asserts that the strategic passage, winding among islands of its Northwest Territories, is part of its territorial waters, while numerous other countries, including the United States, consider them international waters.

Canada last week said it had scientific proof of its territorial claims over a vast portion of the Arctic, amid debate between northern nations over sovereignty in the oil-rich region.

Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn said joint research with Denmark had found that the undersea Lomonosov Ridge is attached to the North American and Greenland plates, directly challenging a Russian claim.

Five countries that border the Arctic Ocean -- Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States -- dispute the sovereignty of the region's waters, and potential mineral riches have heightened tensions over their claims.

The US Geological Survey believes that the Arctic region contains 90 billion barrels of oil just waiting to be explored.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that any coastal state can claim territory 200 nautical miles from their shoreline and exploit the natural resources within that zone.

But nations must provide scientific proof of the natural extension of the continental plate.

Vocabulary

wreck, n: what is left over after something has been destroyed

ice-breaker, n: ship that is able to break through ice to make a path

to set sail, v: to start a journey by boat or ship

to piece together, v: to learn from several pieces of information what happened at an event

fate, n: death, destruction or ruin

exposure, n: condition of being left unprotected to very severe weather conditions like severe cold

starvation, n: condition of having not enough food to live

uncharted, adj: not shown on a map; unexplored

strategic, adj: important for achieving a certain aim

to exploit, v: to use for one's profits

Questions

1. What was Sir John Franklin's occupation?

a. explorer

b. historian

c. merchant

d. mountaineer

2. Where was Sir John Franklin from?

a. Britain

b. Russia

c. Norway

d. America

3. How long ago did he go missing?

a. 12 days

b. 20 weeks

c. 130 years

d. 160 years

4. What is Sir John Franklin famous for?

a. catching penguins for zoos

b. invention of the Polar Ice Burger

c. first person to cross the Arctic ice

d. discovery of the Northwest Passage

5. Why are countries so interested in the Arctic?

a. It is an ideal tourist destination.

b. It is believed to be rich in resources.

c. Countries want to drain water from icebergs.

d. Adjacent countries are at war with each other.

Synonyms

Which of the following words replace the ones from the passage best?

1. unprecedented

a. unique

b. believable

c. second-hand

d. unchallenged

2. ill-fated

a. deserted

b. abandoned

c. unfortunate

d. under-funded

3. perish

a. die

b. survive

c. struggle

d. overcome

4. undertake

a. perform

b. propose

c. interrupt

d. schedule

5. stipulate

a. prefer

b. require

c. exempt

d. suggest

KEY

Questions             1. a, 2. a, 3. d, 4. d, 5. b

Synonyms             1. a, 2. c, 3. a, 4. a, 5. b

By Ajarn Horst Baelz