9°36′S131°42′E / 9.6°S 131.7°E /-9.6; 131.7
Geologically, theSahul Shelf (/səˈhuːl/) is a part of thecontinental shelf of theAustralian continent, lying off the northwest coast ofmainland Australia.
The name "Sahull" or "Sahoel" appeared on 17th century Dutch maps applied to a submergedsandbank betweenAustralia andTimor. On his 1803 map,Matthew Flinders noted the "Great Sahul Shoal" whereIndonesians came fromMakassar to fish fortrepang (sea cucumber).[1] The name Sahul Shelf (Dutch:Sahoel-plat) was coined in 1919 byG.A.F. Molengraaff, an authority on the geology of the thenDutch East Indies.[1]
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The Sahul Shelf proper stretches northwest from Australia much of the way under theTimor Sea towardsTimor, ending where the seabed begins descending into theTimor Trough. To the northeast, the Sahul Shelf merges into the Arafura Shelf, which runs from the northern coast of Australia under theArafura Sea north toNew Guinea. TheAru Islands rise from the Arafura Shelf. The Sahul Shelf is sometimes taken to also include the Rowley Shelf to the southwest ofCape Leveque, girding the north coast ofWestern Australia as far asNorth West Cape.
The existence of an extensive Sahul Shelf was suggested in 1845 byGeorge Windsor Earl who called it the "Great Australian Bank" and noted thatmacropods (kangaroos) were found on Australia, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands. Earl also suggested the existence of theSunda Shelf (which he called the "Great Asiatic Bank") covering the westernMalay Archipelago and theMalay Peninsula.[2] In the 1970s,biogeographers coined "Sundaland" and "Sahul" as contrastive names for the continental regions extending from the adjacent shelves.
When sea levels fell during thePleistoceneice age, including theLast Glacial Maximum about 18,000 years ago, the Sahul Shelf was exposed as dry land. Evidence of the shoreline of this time has been identified in locations which now lie 100 to 140 metres below sea level.[3]
AFlash-based interactive timeline of sea level changes was developed by Monash University in the 2000s.[4][5]
The Arafura Shelf formed aland bridge between Australia, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands, and these lands share manyMarsupial mammals, land birds, and freshwater fish as a result.Lydekker's Line, abiogeographical line, runs along the northwestern edge of the Sahul Shelf where it drops off into the deep waters of theWallacea biogeographical area. Wallacea sits in a gap between the Sahul Shelf and theSunda Shelf, part of the continental shelf of Southeast Asia.[6]
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