Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction Map for Heard and McDonald Islands

One of 27 constituent maps in the 'Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction Map Series' (GeoCat 71789). This map depicts Australia's extended continental shelf approved by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in April 2008, along with treaties and various maritime zones around Heard Island and McDonald Islands. Background imagery includes bathymetric data from Smith and Sandwell (1997) and land imagery from NASA's Blue Marble.

Use Cases

• Analyze maritime boundaries and zones based on the depicted extended continental shelf and treaties.
• Study bathymetric features of the Southern Ocean using the background grid derived from Smith and Sandwell, 1997.
• Reference jurisdictional claims and treaty lines for legal or diplomatic research in the Antarctic region.
• Integrate as a base layer for mapping projects focusing on Australia's Antarctic Territory (AAT).

Strengths

• Part of a standardized series of 27 maps, suggesting consistent cartographic methodology.
• Based on an officially approved extended continental shelf submission from April 2008.
• Incorporates authoritative background data from scientific sources (Smith and Sandwell bathymetry, NASA Blue Marble).
• Provides specific projection details (Mercator, WGS84, Central Meridian 76°E, True Scale at 58°S).

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the source platform and the 2008 approval date.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Cartographic production as part of an official map series.

Time Range

Based on a continental shelf submission approved in April 2008.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 00:40:17.973522; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Heard Island and McDonald Islands, including a portion of the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT).