Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction Map for the Northwest Shelf

One of 27 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. The background bathymetric image is derived from a 2009 9 arc second grid by Geoscience Australia and a 1997 grid by Smith and Sandwell, with land imagery from NASA's Blue Marble.

Use Cases

• Delimit maritime boundaries for legal and policy purposes based on the depicted jurisdiction zones.
• Analyze seabed topography for resource exploration based on the bathymetric background.
• Study the historical and legal context of Australia's continental shelf based on the 2008 CLCS approval and treaties.
• Create educational or reference materials on Australia's maritime claims based on the official map series.

Strengths

• Part of a standardized series of 27 constituent maps, ensuring consistent thematic coverage.
• Integrates authoritative data sources, including a 2009 9 arc second bathymetric grid and a 1997 grid by Smith and Sandwell.
• Based on the official 2008 approval by the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data is provided as a static A0-sized PDF, limiting direct machine-readability and analysis.
• Freshness should be verified; the background bathymetry uses data from 2009 and 1997.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Cartographic compilation from bathymetric grids and legal boundary data.

Time Range

The continental shelf approval is from 2008; background imagery sources are from 2009 and 1997.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-20 02:20:22.610223; freshness should be verified

Geography

Australia's Northwest Shelf maritime jurisdiction area.