Marine jurisdictions define the U.S. boundaries and limits for sovereignty, exclusive rights, and control over maritime areas off its coast. These limits are measured from the U.S. baseline, defined as the low-water line along the coast and marked on NOAA's nautical charts, in accordance with the Law of the Sea. The U.S. Baseline Committee reviews and approves the baseline and related maritime limits. NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey updates these limits and boundaries on nautical charts, including the territorial sea (12 nautical miles), contiguous zone (24 nautical miles), and exclusive economic zone (200 nautical miles), along with maritime boundaries with neighboring countries. U.S. maritime limits are subject to changes due to natural processes such as accretion or erosion.State Seaward Boundary: Defined by the Submerged Lands Act of 1953, this boundary extends 3 nautical miles (nmi) from the baseline, except for Texas, the Gulf coast of Florida, and Puerto Rico, where it extends 9 nmi. This boundary marks the extent of state jurisdiction.Revenue Sharing Boundary: Established by Section 8(g) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, this boundary extends 3 nmi beyond the State Seaward Boundary. Revenues from resources such as oil and gas in this area are shared between the federal government and the coastal state.Territorial Sea: Extended to 12 nmi from the U.S. baseline by Presidential Proclamation 5928 in 1988, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The U.S. exercises full sovereignty over this area, including the airspace above and the subsoil below.Contiguous Zone: Extending from 12 to 24 nmi from the U.S. baseline, this zone allows the U.S. to enforce laws related to customs, fiscal matters, immigration, and sanitation to prevent violations within its territory or territorial sea, in line with international law.Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): Extending from 3 to 200 miles offshore (5 to 322 km), or 9 to 200 miles (14.5 to 322 km) offshore in western Florida and Texas, the EEZ grants the U.S. jurisdiction over economic activities and resource management, including the exploration, exploitation, conservation, and management of natural resources, in accordance with international law.Data and MetadataUS Marine LimitsUS Revenue SharingUS State SeawardOriginal Plate from 1985 Atlas: Political Boundaries and Maritime Zones (.pdf)This is a component of the Gulf Data Atlas (V1.0) for the Jurisdictions topic area.

U.S. collision regulation boundaries are lines of demarcation delineating those waters upon which mariners shall comply with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (72 COLREGS) and those waters upon which mariners shall comply with the Inland Navigation Rules. The waters inland of these lines are subject to the Inland Navigation Rules Act of 1980. The waters outside these lines are subject to the International Navigation Rules of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGS). The Coast Guard has the legal authority to effect regulatory changes to COLREGS. Creation of features was interpreted from descriptions published in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 33, Part 80.

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The water depth and temperature data were collected in he water depth and temperature data were collected in Gulf of Mexico as part of Louisiana-Texas (LATEX part C) Gulf of Mexico Eddy Circulation Study from aircraft between May 18, 1994 and August 14, 1994. The originator's bathythermograph aerial (AXBT) data containing 108 drops were submitted by Dr. Thomas Berger, Science Applications, Inc. Raleigh NC in F022 file format of NODC. The study was supported by grant no MMS 14-35-0001-30633.

LATEX is a three-part, $16.2 million federal initiative funded by the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the Department of the Interior. The study was conducted to aid MMS in reducing risks associated with oil and gas operations on the continental shelf along the Texas and Louisiana coasts from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Rio Grande.

Begun in September 1991, it was the largest physical oceanography program ever undertaken in the Gulf. The program consists of three major parts: LATEX A, B, and C, conducted by the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), Louisiana State University (LSU), and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), respectively.

LATEX C was carried out by researchers at SAIC and the University of Colorado. Loop Current eddies, slope eddies, and squirts and jets within the Gulf of Mexico were located and tracked by air-deployed temperature profiling instruments and drifting buoys. Using these data, scientists assessed the impact of these Gulf-wide, circulation features on shelf circulation and identified the processes that interact with the shelf.

The water depth and temperature data were collected in Gulf of Mexico as part of Louisiana-Texas (LATEX part C) Gulf of Mexico Eddy Circulation Study from aircraft between October 15, 1994 and November 15, 1994. The originator's bathythermograph aerial (AXBT) and Airborne Expendable Current Profiler (AXCP) data were submitted by Dr. Thomas Berger, Science Applications, Inc. Raleigh NC. The study was supported by grant no MMS 14-35-0001-30633.

LATEX is a three-part, $16.2 million federal initiative funded by the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the Department of the Interior. The study was conducted to aid MMS in reducing risks associated with oil and gas operations on the continental shelf along the Texas and Louisiana coasts from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Rio Grande.

Begun in September 1991, it was the largest physical oceanography program ever undertaken in the Gulf. The program consists of three major parts: LATEX A, B, and C, conducted by the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), Louisiana State University (LSU), and Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), respectively.

LATEX C was carried out by researchers at SAIC and the University of Colorado. Loop Current eddies, slope eddies, and squirts and jets within the Gulf of Mexico were located and tracked by air-deployed temperature profiling instruments and drifting buoys. Using these data, scientists assessed the impact of these Gulf-wide, circulation features on shelf circulation and identified the processes that interact with the shelf.

This accession contains 73 sets of data collected as part of Shipboard Environmental data Acquisition System (SEAS) III program in North Pacific Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico. The cruises were conducted using 27 different ships. The bathythermograph (XBT) data was collected between October 11, 1986 and November 30, 1991. The data was sent from the cruise ships to the National Ocean Service, Rockville, MD via telecommunication. This data is currently available in the C116 file format of NODC.