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EOS, TRANSACTIONS AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION, VOL. 88, NO. 22, doi:10.1029/2007EO220001, 2007

Law of the Sea, the Continental Shelf, and Marine Research

Deborah R. Hutchinson

U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Mass., USA


Robert W. Rowland

U.S. Geological Survey, retired, Elkhart, Ind., USA


Abstract

The question of the amount of seabed to which a coastal nation is entitled is addressed in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This treaty, ratified by 153 nations and in force since 1994, specifies national obligations, rights, and jurisdiction in the oceans, and it allows nations a continental shelf out to at least 200 nautical miles or to a maritime boundary. Article 76 (A76) of the convention enables coastal nations to establish their continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles and therefore to control, among other things, access for scientific research and the use of seabed resources that would otherwise be considered to lie beyond national jurisdiction.

Published 29 May 2007.

Index Terms: 6324 Policy Sciences: Legislation and regulations (6615); 3002 Marine Geology and Geophysics: Continental shelf and slope processes (4219); 6620 Public Issues: Science policy (0485).

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Citation: Hutchinson, D. R., and R. W. Rowland (2007), Law of the Sea, the Continental Shelf, and Marine Research, Eos Trans. AGU, 88(22), doi:10.1029/2007EO220001.