All Topics  
Arafura Sea

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Arafura Sea
 
 
  Topics Arafura Sea Topic Home

The Arafura Sea lies west of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 overlying the continental shelf
Continental shelf

The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain, and was part of the continent during the glacial periods, but is undersea during Ice age such as the current epoch by relatively shallow seas and Bay....
 between Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 and New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
. It is bordered by Torres Strait
Torres Strait

The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately 150 kilometre wide at its narrowest extent....
 and through that the Coral Sea
Coral Sea

The Coral Sea is a marginal sea off the north-east coast of Australia. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu and by New Caledonia, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands....
 to the east, the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria

File:Gulf of Carpentaria map.pngFile:Gulf-of-Carpentaria-Australia-Otto-Petri-1859-Rotterdam.jpgThe Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea ....
 to the south, the Timor Sea
Timor Sea

The Timor Sea is a sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the south by Australia and to the west by the Indian Ocean....
 to the west and the Banda
Banda Sea

The Banda Sea is the sea of the South Moluccas in Indonesia, technically part of the Pacific Ocean but separated from it by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera Sea and Ceram Seas....
 and Ceram
Ceram Sea

The Ceram Sea is one of several small seas between the scattered islands of Indonesia. It is a section of the Pacific Ocean with an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometers located between Buru and Seram, which are two of the islands once called the South Moluccas....
 seas to the northwest. It is 1290 kilometres (800 miles) long and 560 kilometres (350 miles) wide.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Arafura Sea'
Start a new discussion about 'Arafura Sea'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Arafura Sea Map
The Arafura Sea lies west of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 overlying the continental shelf
Continental shelf

The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain, and was part of the continent during the glacial periods, but is undersea during Ice age such as the current epoch by relatively shallow seas and Bay....
 between Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 and New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
. It is bordered by Torres Strait
Torres Strait

The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately 150 kilometre wide at its narrowest extent....
 and through that the Coral Sea
Coral Sea

The Coral Sea is a marginal sea off the north-east coast of Australia. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu and by New Caledonia, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands....
 to the east, the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria

File:Gulf of Carpentaria map.pngFile:Gulf-of-Carpentaria-Australia-Otto-Petri-1859-Rotterdam.jpgThe Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea ....
 to the south, the Timor Sea
Timor Sea

The Timor Sea is a sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the south by Australia and to the west by the Indian Ocean....
 to the west and the Banda
Banda Sea

The Banda Sea is the sea of the South Moluccas in Indonesia, technically part of the Pacific Ocean but separated from it by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera Sea and Ceram Seas....
 and Ceram
Ceram Sea

The Ceram Sea is one of several small seas between the scattered islands of Indonesia. It is a section of the Pacific Ocean with an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometers located between Buru and Seram, which are two of the islands once called the South Moluccas....
 seas to the northwest. It is 1290 kilometres (800 miles) long and 560 kilometres (350 miles) wide. The depth of the sea is primarily 50-80 metres (165-265 feet) with the depth increasing to the west. As a shallow tropical sea, its waters are a breeding ground for tropical cyclones.

The sea lies over the Arafura Shelf, part of the Sahul Shelf
Sahul Shelf

The Sahul Shelf is part of the continental shelf of Australia and lies off the northern coast of Australia. The Sahul Shelf proper stretches northwest from Australia much of the way under the Timor Sea towards Timor, ending where the seabed begins descending into the Timor Trough....
. When sea level
Sea level

Mean sea level is the average height of the sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface. Defining the reference level , however, involves complex measurement, and accurately determining MSL can prove difficult....
s were low during the last glacial maximum, the Arafura Shelf, the Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait formed a large flat land bridge
Land bridge

A land bridge, in biogeography, is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, which allows terrestrial animals and plants to cross over and colonise new lands....
 connecting Australia and New Guinea and easing migration of humans from Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 into Australia. The combined landmass formed the continent of Sahul.

The name first appeared in use in GW Earl's 1837 "Sailing Directions for the Arafura" in which he compiled translations from earlier Dutch mariner explorations.

It has been suggested that the name Arafura is of Portuguese origin, being the corruption of the word "Alfours"meaning "free men", but recent research at the Dutch National Archives has revealed AJ van der Aa's 1939 Toponymic Dictionary records "the inhabitants of the Moluccas called themselves "haraforas", translating "Anak anak gunung" as "children of the mountains"."

The Arafura Sea name is from the indigenous name for "the people of mountains" in the Moluccas (part of Indonesia) as identified by Dutch Lieutenants Kolff and Modera in the 1830s."

It is potentially a place for shrimp and demersal fishing. Shrimp available in this sea are penaeid sp in addition to basic fishes, nemipteridae sp and other kind of fish.

In a world where marine ecosystems and fish stocks are generally collapsing, the Arafura Sea stands at the global maximum of marine biodiversity. This sea, however, is coming under intense pressure from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities. If this trend persists, the fish protein dependent communities that surround the sea will face a considerable challenge in sustaining their livelihoods.

Increasing economic growth and maintaining environment quality are two main challenges to achieve sustainable development in coastal areas of the sea. Utilization of marine and fisheries resources for economic development of particular area must be conducted in coordinative manner and through appropriate approaches which take into consideration the sustainable aspects of the environment.

Established in 2002, the Arafura and Timor Seas Expert Forum (ATSEF) seeks to promote economically and environmentally sustainable management of the seas.