Abbreviations
ATS CLCS DOALOS EEZ ISA
Antarctic Treaty System
Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law Of the Sea Exclusive Economic Zone International Seabed Authority
M
SIDS STG
UNCLOS
Nautical mile – 1 M equals 1,852 metres (m) Small Island Developing States Scientific and Technical Guidelines United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Glossary
Active continental margins Margins at the edges of converging plates are called active margins, because they experience frequent volcanic or earthquake activity. These are caused by the subduction of the oceanic plate under the continental plate. A trench is formed at the subduction site and sedi- ments eroding from the continent accumulate on the shelf or are trans- ported into the trench (continental rises are generally absent on active margins because the presence of the trench doesn’t allow for sediment to accumulate). Active margins occur around much of the Pacific Rim, in North and South America, the Alaska and Kamchatka Peninsulas, the Aleutian Islands, and Japan.
Antarctic Treaty Was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961. The purpose of the Treaty is to ensure “in the inter- ests of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord.” A total of 47 countries have become Parties to the Antarctic Treaty. Of these, seven claim territory in Antarc- tica (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom), 12 are Original Signatories, and 28 are Consultative Parties. The Antarctic Treaty area is the area south of 60°S.
Area, the
The seabed, ocean floor and subsoil thereof beyond the limits of na- tional jurisdiction. The resources of the international seabed area (de- fined as “all solid, liquid or gaseous mineral resources in situ in the Area at or beneath the seabed, including poly-metallic nodules”) are considered the common heritage of mankind.
Baseline
Maritime zones – apart from the extended continental shelf – are defined by a distance criterion measured from a baseline. Depending on the na- ture of the coastline, different types of baselines can be employed: nor- mal – low water line along the coast; straight – points connected along the coast; archipelagic – straight baselines joining the outermost points of the outermost islands and drying reefs of an archipelago. States lodge baseline data with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The CLCS does not make judgements about the validity of the baselines submitted as part of the supporting data for the delineation of the continental shelf.
Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) Is elected by the States Parties and consists of 21 members who are
26 Continental Shelf
experts in the field of geology, geophysics or hydrography. The main purpose of the Commission is to examine data submitted by coastal States and make recommendations related to the establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 M. The Commis- sion ordinarily meets twice a year, in the spring and autumn, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Contiguous zone The coastal State has authority in the contiguous zone in regards to customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary laws and regulations. The contiguous zone extends up to 24 M from the baseline.
Continental margin
Under the terms of the Convention: The continental margin com- prises the submerged prolongation of the land mass of the coastal State, and consists of the seabed and subsoil of the shelf, the slope and the rise. It does not include the deep ocean floor with its oceanic ridges or the subsoil thereof. (Article 76, paragraph 3).
Continental shelf (geological) The concept of the continental shelf contained in the Convention differs from the corresponding scientific concept. The scientific con- tinental shelf forms part of the continental margin, which is made up of the shallow, relatively flat continental shelf, bordered by an in- clined continental slope, at the base of which is often found a wedge shaped layer of sediments, the continental rise. Depending on the geological setting continental shelves can be narrow or broad.
Continental shelf (legal)
The concept of the legal continental shelf is generally traced back to the 1945 Truman Proclamation. The current legal definition con- tained in the Convention states: 1. The continental shelf of a coastal State comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea (i) throughout the natural prolonga- tion of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or (ii) to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance. 2. The continental shelf of a coastal State shall not extend beyond the limits provided for in paragraphs 4 to 6 (article 76, paragraphs 1 and 2). It consists of the seabed and subsoil of the shelf, the slope and the rise, but does not include the deep ocean floor with its oceanic ridges.
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