Arafura Shelf

E372445

The Arafura Shelf is a broad, shallow continental shelf in the western Pacific region, forming part of the submerged landmass between northern Australia and New Guinea.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Arafura Basin 2
Arafura Shelf canonical 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (43)

Predicate Object
instanceOf continental shelf
submarine feature
borderedBy Arafura Shelf self-linksurface differs
surface form: Arafura Basin
characterizedBy broad shallow waters
gentle seafloor gradients
connectedTo Gulf of Carpentaria
surface form: Gulf of Carpentaria shelf

Torres Strait
surface form: Torres Strait region
exposedDuring Pleistocene glacial maxima
formedLandBridgeBetween Australia and New Guinea during lower sea levels
formsPartOf submerged landmass between northern Australia and New Guinea
hasEcologicalSignificance important habitat for demersal fish communities
supports shallow marine ecosystems
hasGeologicalSetting passive continental margin
hasJurisdictionalWatersOf Australia
Indonesia
Papua New Guinea
hasMaximumWaterDepth about 200 metres
hasResearchInterestIn Quaternary sedimentation
plate-tectonic evolution of northern Australia
sea-level change
hasTypicalWaterDepth less than 100 metres
importantFor paleogeographic reconstructions of Sahul
studies of human migration into Sahul
locatedEastOf Timor Sea
locatedIn Arafura Sea
western Pacific Ocean
locatedNear Gulf of Carpentaria
locatedNorthOf Australia
locatedSouthOf New Guinea
locatedWestOf Coral Sea
namedAfter Arafura Sea
partOf Sahul Shelf
Sahul Shelf
surface form: Sahul Shelf region

Sahul land during the Last Glacial Maximum
continental shelf of Australia
continental shelf of New Guinea
seafloorCompositionIncludes carbonate sediments
terrigenous sediments
separates Australia from New Guinea
submergedSince post-glacial sea-level rise of the Holocene
tectonicSetting northern margin of the Australian Plate
usedFor fisheries
hydrocarbon exploration

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Arafura Sea liesOn Arafura Shelf
Sahul Shelf contains Arafura Shelf
Arafura Shelf borderedBy Arafura Shelf self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Arafura Basin
Arafura Swamp partOf Arafura Shelf
this entity surface form: Arafura Basin