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MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's expedition aimed at symbolically claiming a vast hydrocarbon-rich section of the Arctic has reached the North Pole where it plans to make the first-ever dive below the Pole in mini-submarines.
The dive is expected to gather scientific data, and is seen as a publicity stunt designed to prop up Russia's claim to about 460,000 square miles of the territory, which the country says is the continuation of its continental shelf and contains 25% of the world's oil and gas reserves, according to a U.S. survey, made accessible by the receding of polar ice due to global warming.
"According to reports from the Akademik Fedorov research ship, Mir mini-submarines are scheduled to begin their dive on the morning of August 2," Russia's Arctic Institute said.
The Akademik Fedorov, carrying two mini-submarines which will dive 4,200 meters (14,000 feet) below the surface, is trailing a nuclear icebreaker.