Australia Maritime Jurisdiction Map With Continental Shelf Boundaries

One of 27 constituent maps in the 'Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction Map Series'. This A0-sized PDF depicts Australia's extended continental shelf as approved in April 2008, using bathymetry from 2009 and 1997 sources. The map includes external territories and the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Use Cases

• Analyze Australia's Maritime Jurisdiction boundaries, including the AU-EEZ and external territories, for legal or policy research.
• Reference the approved extended continental shelf depiction from April 2008 for maritime boundary disputes or negotiations.
• Use the combined 2009 and 1997 bathymetry and topographic background layers for coastal or marine spatial planning.
• Study the thematic map's integration of Blue Marble land imagery from NASA's Earth Observatory for geographic context.

Strengths

• Part of a 27-map authoritative series (GeoCat 71789) from Geoscience Australia.
• Integrates multiple authoritative data sources: 2009 9 arc-second bathymetry, a 1997 grid by Smith and Sandwell, and NASA Blue Marble imagery.
• Depicts a legally significant feature: the extended continental shelf approved by the UN Commission in April 2008.

Limitations

• Data is static and map-focused; no tabular rows, columns, or sample data are provided for quantitative analysis.
• The primary format is a PDF, which requires specialized GIS or graphic software for detailed spatial analysis of embedded layers.
• Temporal coverage of the underlying bathymetry and imagery varies (1997, 2009), potentially lacking recent updates.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Cartographic compilation from approved legal boundaries and scientific grids.

Time Range

Approval date for continental shelf: April 2008. Background data from 1997 and 2009.

Freshness

Metadata last updated March 2026, but core map data reflects 2008-2009 sources.

Geography

Australia's full maritime jurisdiction, including external territories and the Australian Antarctic Territory.