Maritime Jurisdiction Map of Australia's Northwest Shelf

Geoscience Australia provides a thematic map depicting Australia's maritime jurisdiction off the Northwest Shelf. It is one of 27 constituent maps in the national Maritime Jurisdiction Map Series, showing the extended continental shelf approved in 2008, treaties, and maritime zones.

Use Cases

• Analyze the extent of Australia's extended continental shelf boundary for legal and policy research.
• Use the bathymetric background layer derived from GA and Smith and Sandwell grids for marine geology studies.
• Reference maritime zone and treaty boundaries for regional maritime security and resource management planning.
• Integrate the A0-sized PDF map as a base layer for cartographic projects focusing on the Northwest Shelf region.

Strengths

• Part of a standardized national map series comprising 27 constituent maps.
• Incorporates authoritative bathymetric data from Geoscience Australia's 2009 grid and Smith and Sandwell, 1997.
• Depicts legally recognized maritime boundaries, including the 2008-approved extended continental shelf.

Limitations

• Data is static and presented only as a PDF/HTML map, limiting machine-readability and analysis.
• No underlying tabular or vector data (e.g., shapefiles) are provided for the jurisdictional features.
• The map's creation relies on background imagery from 2009 and 1997, which may not reflect current seafloor conditions.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Cartographic compilation for the Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction Map Series (GeoCat 71789).

Time Range

Boundaries reflect treaties and the April 2008 continental shelf approval.

Freshness

null

Geography

Australia's maritime jurisdiction off the Northwest Shelf.