The Arafura Sea is a shallow arm of the Pacific Ocean overlying the continental shelf between Australia and New Guinea. It is bordered by Torres Strait and through that the Coral Sea to the east, the Gulf of Carpentaria to the south, the Timor Sea to the west and the Banda and Ceram seas to the northwest.
It is 1290 kilometres (800 miles) long and 560 kilometres (350 miles) wide. The depth of the sea is primarily 50-80 metres (165-265 feet) with the depth increasing to the west. As a shallow tropical sea, its waters are a breeding ground for tropical cyclones.
The sea lies over the Arafura Shelf, part of the Sahul Shelf. When sea levels were low during the last ice age (the period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth's climate, resulting in an expansion of the continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers), the Arafura Shelf, the Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait formed a large flat land bridge connecting Australia and New Guinea which eased migration of humans from Asia to Australia. The combined landmass formed the continent of Sahul.
It is an important place for shrimp catching and fishing. In a world where marine ecosystems and fish stocks are generally collapsing, the Arafura Sea stands at the global maximum of marine biodiversity.
