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The continental shelf is the extension of a country’s land territory under the sea. The continental shelf holds many resources (e.g., corals, crabs) and vital habitats for marine life. The portion of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast is known as the “extended continental shelf,” or ECS.

U.S. Extended Continental Shelf The United States has ECS in seven offshore areas (Figure 1): the Arctic, Atlantic (east coast), Bering Sea, Pacific (west coast), Mariana Islands, and two areas in the Gulf of America. The U.S. ECS area is approximately one million square kilometers – an area about twice the size of California. The United States may also […]

The Department of State today announced the outer limits of the U.S. continental shelf in areas beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast. Continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles is known as the extended continental shelf or ECS.. The U.S. ECS is approximately 1 million square kilometers (more than 386,000 square miles) spread across seven regions, and supports many resources (e.g., coral ...

The extended continental shelf, or ECS, refers to that portion of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast. ECS limits are determined using the provisions set forth in Article 76 of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. See the About ECS section. Where is the U.S. ECS and how big is it?

The United States has an interest in knowing the full extent of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from shore (called the extended continental shelf, or ECS) so that it can better protect, manage and use the resources of the seabed and subsoil contained therein. The USGS contributes to the ECS effort through membership and leadership on the interagency U.S. ECS Task Force, a group ...

The United States has ECS in seven offshore areas: the Arctic, Atlantic (east coast), Bering Sea, Pacific (west coast), Mariana Islands, and two areas in the Gulf of America. The U.S. ECS area is approximately one million square kilometers – an area about twice the size of California.

The mission of the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) Project is to establish the full extent of the U.S. continental shelf, consistent with international law. Data collected for the project include bathymetric, subbottom, gravity, magnetic, seismic, and geologic sample data from the U.S. coastal waters to the deep ocean. U.S. ECS project ...

The United States, like other countries, has an inherent interest in knowing, and declaring to others, the exact extent of its ECS and thus the sovereign rights it is entitled to exercise in this part of the ocean. ... The portion of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles is typically called the “extended continental shelf” or ...

Learn about the continental shelf, the extended continental shelf (ECS), and the sovereign rights of the United States over this maritime zone. Find out how the U.S. ECS Project collects data, submits claims, and engages with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

Learn about the U.S. ECS, a maritime zone that holds many resources and vital habitats for marine life. Find out how NOAA collects, processes, and archives bathymetric data to define the ECS limits in accordance with international law.

Today, the Department released the geographic coordinates defining the outer limits of the U.S. continental shelf in areas beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast, known as the extended continental shelf (ECS). The continental shelf is the extension of a country’s land territory under the sea. Like other countries, the United States has ...

The mission of the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) Project is to establish the full extent of the continental shelf of the United States, consistent with international law. The delineation of the outer limits of the U.S. ECS, including the data collection and the preparation of supporting documentation, is coordinated by the U.S. ECS Task […]

shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from shore. Within this extended continental shelf, the coastal state has sovereign rights over the natural resources on and beneath the seabed. The field work necessary to determine the shelf outer limits includes multibeam swath sonar, seismic reflection/refraction, bottom sampling, and geophysical data.

In December 2023, The U.S. Department of State has released information about the outer limits of its extended continental shelf (ECS). The delineation of the ECS outer limits represents the largest offshore mapping effort ever undertaken by the United States, requiring two decades of extensive collection of marine geophysical data. The outcome of this project […]

Introduction. In December 2023, the United States (US) Department of State released an Executive Summary with information about the outer limits of its extended continental shelf (ECS).. Recently, both Russia and China reacted to this development. Their reactions rejected the notion that the US could claim an ECS without acceding to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The United States has an interest in knowing the full extent of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from shore (called the extended continental shelf, or ECS) so that it can better protect, manage and use the resources of the seabed and subsoil contained therein.

The United States Extended Continental Shelf. Do the rights of the United States over its continental shelf depend upon accession to the Convention and making a submission to the CLCS? No. Customary international law, as reflected in the Convention, confers such rights on a coastal State. At the same time, joining the Convention would allow the ...

NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research is a critical partner in the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) Project. The project is a multi-agency effort focused on helping the United States identify the extent of continental shelf seabed and sub-seafloor over which it can exercise sovereign rights beyond the nation’s 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone, consistent with the ...

Since 2001, the United States has been engaged in gathering and analyzing data to determine the outer limits of its extended continental shelf (ECS). Under the Convention on the Law of the Sea, every coastal State has a continental shelf out to 200 nautical miles from its coastal baselines (or out to a maritime boundary with another coastal ...