The ECS is the area of the continental shelf below the shallow water.
The area of the United States increased by 386,000 square miles (6.21 million square kilometers) last month after the Department of State (DOS) added submerged offshore areas in six regions known as the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) to its total land mass, according to reports. That’s what it means.report of metro. The ECS is an area of the continental shelf that lies below more than 200 nautical miles of shallow water. The largest ECS area in the United States is the Arctic Circle, which extends 350 miles (612 kilometers) north and more than 680 miles (1,094 kilometers) in the west, the news agency further said.
According to the USGS, this area is a critical area that contains many resources and critical habitat for marine life.
The agency said the U.S. ECS includes six other regions: the Atlantic East Coast, the Pacific West Coast, the Bering Sea, the Mariana Islands, and two parts of the Gulf of Mexico.
“The United States, like other nations, has the right under international law to protect and manage resources and critical habitat on and under the ECS,” the State Department said in a statement.
The land area added to the U.S. territory is almost twice that of Spain.
The Wilson Center, a Washington, DC-based think tank, said the ECS extension would have a major impact on US efforts to secure territorial rights in the Arctic region.
“The United States has major economic interests in undersea areas rich in oil, natural gas, minerals, and marine life, to which it has sovereign rights under the law of the sea as reflected in the Convention on the Law of the Sea. , has been clear for a long time. “The think tank reportedly said:” metro.
The Wilson Center also said the United States has the largest exclusive economic zone on earth, which helps protect sovereignty over submerged areas.
“This is also an important milestone that reflects the United States’ commitment to the law of the sea, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and as an aspect of advancing America’s primary interests in the Arctic and elsewhere.” said the Wilson Center.
ECS enhancements are based on analysis of data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and USGS.