Australia's Northern Maritime Jurisdiction and Continental Shelf Map

One of 27 constituent maps in the Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction Map Series, depicting the continental shelf as proclaimed in the 2012 proclamation. The map was updated in June 2014 by Geoscience Australia to conform with the Australian Maritime Boundaries 2014 dataset. It covers areas contiguous to northern Australia and extends west to Christmas Island.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial extent of Australia's proclaimed continental shelf boundaries for legal and resource claims.
• Use the bathymetry background layer, derived from 9 arc second and Smith & Sandwell grids, for seafloor topography studies.
• Reference the maritime jurisdiction areas, excluding Cocos (Keeling) Islands, for regional maritime security and governance planning.
• Integrate the map's geospatial features as a base layer for marine spatial planning in northern Australian waters.

Strengths

• Part of a standardized series of 27 maps providing systematic national coverage.
• Based on authoritative legal proclamations and the Australian Maritime Boundaries 2014 dataset from Geoscience Australia.
• Includes detailed bathymetric background imagery from combined high-resolution sources.

Limitations

• Data is static and reflects the legal and geographic situation as of its last update in June 2014.
• The primary deliverable is a large-format PDF (2800mm x 1050mm) not natively structured as machine-readable vector data.
• Spatial coverage is partial, explicitly excluding areas around Cocos (Keeling) Islands and west of Christmas Island.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Cartographic compilation and update from legal boundaries and bathymetric grids.

Time Range

Snapshot as of June 2014, based on the 2012 proclamation.

Freshness

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Geography

Maritime zones off northern Australia, extending west to Christmas Island.