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Deepseawaters
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List of SeasArafura Sea
Arafura Sea
Geography
The Arafura Sea lies west of the Pacific Ocean on the top of the continental ledge between Australia and New Guinea. It is surrounded by Torres Strait and through that the Coral Sea to the east, the Timor Sea to the west , the Gulf of Carpentaria to the south, and the Banda and Ceram seas to the northwest.
Coverage area
The sea is nearly 1290 kilometers (800 miles) long and 560 kilometers (350 miles) wide. The depth of the sea is primarily 50-80 meters (165-265 feet) and the depth increases to the west.
The sea lies above the Arafura Shelf, part of the Sahul Shelf. The sea levels were low during the last glacial maximum, the Arafura Shelf, the Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait formed a large flat land bridge connecting Australia and New Guinea and easing migration of humans from Asia into Australia.
Naming: The name first appeared in use in GW Earl's 1837 as "Sailing Directions for the Arafura" which is translated from earlier Dutch mariner explorations.The Arafura Sea name is from the native name for "the people of mountains" in the Moluccas (part of Indonesia) as identified by Dutch Lieutenants Kolff and Modera in the 1830s."
Ecosystem
It is a suitable 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.
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