U.S. Maritime Limits & Boundaries

Where can I find electronic data of state territorial waters at 3 nautical miles (or 9 nautical miles off of Texas, Puerto Rico, and the west coast of Florida)?

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ( BOEM ) manages and disseminates the Submerged Lands Act federal/state boundaries. Electronic datum is here. Go to the links under “ GIS Data / Shapefiles ” to download data for a specific region. note : the Gulf of Mexico dataset is in the sub-link, “ Gulf of Mexico Geographic Mapping Data. ”

How are the U.S. maritime limits drawn?

The U.S. nautical limits are projected from a “ normal baseline ” derived from NOAA nautical charts. A “ normal service line ” ( as defined in the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone and Article 5 of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea ) is the low-water course along the coast as marked on official, large-scale charts. Since “ low-water agate line ” does not reference a specific tidal datum, the U.S. applies the term to reference the lowest chart datum, which is mean lower low water ( MLLW ) .
The nautical limits are created using “ envelope of arc, ” a method acting by which one rolls a virtual traffic circle along the charted low urine line and selects salient points. These salient points are called “ contributing baseline points. ” Arcs generated from these baseline points are blended together to form a continuous limit line or envelope of bow .
Envelope of arcs.
The U.S. Baseline Committee reviews and approves the limits of all maritime zones on NOAA charts. It gains interagency consensus on the proper location of the baseline, using the provisions of the 1958 convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, to ensure that the seaward extents of U.S. maritime zones do not exceed the width permitted by international law. stream members of the Committee include the Departments of State ( Chair ), Commerce ( NOAA ), Justice, Interior ( BOEM ), and Homeland Security ( Coast Guard ), among others.

Reading: U.S. Maritime Limits & Boundaries

What initiates updates to the digital U.S. maritime limits and boundaries?

The elementary triggers for updates include accretion or erosion of the charted low water trace by approximately 500 meters or more, or changes to low tide elevations ( i.e., rocks awash ) as a resultant role of new hydrographic surveil information. The Office of Coast Survey and the Baseline Committee will investigate these changes for newfangled edition chart. There are approximately 12 new editions issued each month, and a small number of these charts describe features that impact the U.S. baseline or maritime limits. The Baseline Committee, which meets four to six times per year, reviews and approved all proposed revisions .
Another trigger for exchange may be the U.S. ratification of a new treaty with a adjacent coastal State. Some areas for future exchange include the U.S. waters adjacent to Canada, the Bahamas, Kiribati, Tonga, and the Federated States of Micronesia, to name a few .

How often are digital U.S. Maritime Limits and Boundaries updated?

Depending on the flat of variety ( see Weekly Chart Updates ), the Office of Coast Survey may update the digital U.S. nautical limits and boundaries american samoa frequently as every few months in certain areas. Though we provide both dyanmic and static datasets, we recommend using our dynamic data services to ensure the most up-to-date version of the U.S. nautical limits and boundaries. We provide an archive of past updates to explain what has changed in each spill of the data.

How do I use dynamic web mapping services?

We offer dynamic data is two formats : OpenGIS ® Web Map Service ( WMS ) and proprietary ESRI REST service .
The WMS can be used in assorted desktop GIS software adenine good as world wide web map applications. The WMS connection leads to the GetCapabilities page, which provides easy-to-read, detailed information about the data vitamin a well as the necessity connection to load the data into a GIS or web function lotion. assailable Geospatial Consortium ( OGC ) provides more information about vane map services .
For users who prefer to work within the ESRI software environment, we provide an ESRI REST ( Representational State Transfer ) serve. This avail can be used in ESRI ’ s ArcGIS Desktop software or in ESRI ’ s dislodge ArcGIS Explorer Desktop. It can besides be added as a layer in web map services, such as ArcGIS Online.

What information is provided with the dataset?

The dataset includes specific information about each maritime limit segment. Attributes for the data are :

  • Boundary ID: a unique identifier of the boundary segment
  • Region Name: region in which the boundary is located
  • Type of Feature: features can either be a land boundary (between the U.S. and Canada), a maritime limit, or a maritime boundary between the U.S. and an adjacent or opposite country.
  • Publication Date: date the digital boundary was published online
  • Approval Date: date the U.S. Baseline Committee approved the updates
  • Legal Authority: treaty, agreement, or proclamation granting the government authority to establish the limit or boundary.
  • Agency of Responsibility: federal agency responsible for maintaining the digital data
  • Note: additional notes about the limit/boundary
  • Supplemental Information Document: link to metadata about the specific boundary segment. The document supplements the parent metadata record.
  • Unilateral Claim: some maritime boundary claims have not been agreed upon by all parties. These boundaries are designated as unilateral claims.
  • Description: specific category of maritime limit/boundary.

Why is the digital product different from the product printed on the chart?

Because of a remainder in the chart printing schedule and the digital datum update schedule, the digital data and the paper charts might not constantly be identical. In the event that the digital intersection and the paper charts disagree, the maritime limits and boundaries on the newspaper charts take precedence .

How can I access the three nautical mile line that is printed on NOAA nautical charts?

We find that most people who seek this line are actually looking for the Submerged Lands Act federal/state boundary provided by BOEM ( see FAQ # 1 ). For those seeking the ambulatory three nautical mile territorial ocean limit, we recommend that you use the seamless raster nautical chart service provided by the Office of Coast Survey .

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