The Timor Sea (Indonesian: Laut Timor; Portuguese: Mar de Timor; Tetum: Tasi Mane or Tasi Timór) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Trench marks the deepest point of the Timor Sea with a depth of more than 3300 metres, separating the continents of Oceania in the southeast and Asia to the northwest and north. The Timor sea is prone to earthquakes and tsunamis north of the Sunda Trench, due to its location on the Ring of Fire as well as volcanic activity and can experience major cyclones, due to the proximity from the Equator. The sea contains a number of reefs, uninhabited islands and significant hydrocarbon reserves. International disputes emerged after the reserves were discovered resulting in the signing of the Timor Sea Treaty. The Timor Sea was hit by the worst oil spill for 25 years in 2009. It is possible that Australia's first inhabitants crossed the Timor Sea from the Malay Archipelago at a time when sea levels were lower.
Etymology The Timor Sea is named after Timor, the island on the other side of the sea's northern coastline. The island's name is a variant of timur, Malay for "east". In Tetum, the sea is often referred to by the expression tasi mane (lit. transl. 'male sea'). The counterpart of that body of water, the 'Ombai-Wetar Strait', which has smaller waves, is less turbid, and washes most of Timor island's northern shores, is commonly referred to in Tetum as tasi feto (lit. transl. 'female sea').
Geography
The waters to the east are known as the Arafura Sea. The Timor Sea is adjacent to three substantial inlets on the north Australian coast, the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, Beagle Gulf and the Van Diemen Gulf. The Australian city of Darwin which is located in part on the shore of the Beagle Gulf, is the nearest large city to the sea. The small town of Wyndham is located on the west arm of Cambridge Gulf, an inlet of Joseph Bonaparte Gulf. Rivers that enter the Timor Sea from the Northern Territory include Fish River, King River, Dry River, Victoria River and the Alligator Rivers. Rivers in the Kimberley region that flows into the Timor Sea include the Ord River, Forrest River, Pentecost River and Durack River. The sea is about 480 km (300 mi) wide, covering an area of about 610 thousand km2 (240,000 mi2). Its deepest point is the Timor Trough (which some geologists consider to be the south-eastern extension of the Java Trench, but others view it as a foreland trough to the Timor Island "mountain range"), located in the northern part of the sea, which reaches a depth of 3,300 m (10,800 ft). The remainder of the sea is much shallower, much of it averaging less than 200 m (660 ft) deep, as it overlies the Sahul Shelf, part of the Australian continental shelf. The Big Bank Shoals is an area on the sloping seabed between the continental shelf and the Timor Trough where a number of submerged banks are located. The ecosystem of the shoals differs significantly from the deeper waters surrounding them. In May 2010, it was announced that a crater about 50 km (31 mi) wide has been discovered on the seabed of the Timor Sea.
Extent
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Timor Sea as being one of the waters of the East Indian Archipelago. The IHO defines its limits as follows:
On the North The Southeastern limit of the Savu Sea [By a line from the Southwest point of Timor to the Northeast point of Roti, through this island to its Southwest point] the Southeastern coast of Timor and the Southern limit of the Banda Sea [A line from Tanjong Aro Oesoe, through Sermata to Tanjong Njadora the Southeast point of Lakov (8°16′S 128°14′E) along the South coasts of Lakov, Moa and Leti Islands to Tanjong Toet Pateh, the West point of Leti, thence a line to Tanjong Sewirawa the Eastern extremity of Timor]. On the East. The Western [limit] of the Arafura Sea [A line from Cape Don to Tanjong Aro Oesoe, the Southern point of Selaroe (Tanimbar Islands)]. On the South. The North coast of Australia from Cape Don to Cape Londonderry (13°47′S 126°55′E). On the West. A line from Cape Londonderry to the Southwest point of Roti Island (10°56′S 122°48′E).
Meteorology Many tropical storms and cyclones originate or pass through the Timor Sea. In February 2005, Tropical Cyclone Vivienne disrupted oil and gas production facilities in the area, and the next month, Severe Tropical Cyclone Willy interrupted production. Petroleum production facilities are designed to withstand the effects of cyclones, although as a safety precaution production work is often reduced or temporarily halted and workers evacuated by helicopter to the mainland – usually to Darwin or Dili.
Reefs and islands
A number of significant islands are located in the sea, notably Melville Island, part of the Tiwi Islands, off Australia and the Australian-governed Ashmore and Cartier Islands. It is thought that early humans reached Australia by "island-hopping" across the Timor Sea. Scott and Seringapatam Reefs formed in the area and to the west, on the same underwater platform, are the Rowley Shoals.
History
World War II
During the 1940s the Japanese navy conducted air raids on Australia from ships in the Timor Sea. On the 19 February 1942 the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga with other vessels, launched air strikes against Darwin, Australia, sinking nine ships, including the USS Peary. This bombing marked the beginning of the Battle of Timor in the Pacific theatre of World War II.
Hydrology
Timor Current The Timor Current is an oceanic current that runs south-west in the Timor Sea between the Malay Archipelago and Australia. It is a major contributor to the Indonesian Throughflow that transports water from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
Hydrocarbon reserves
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