An NCEI team, U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Project Office

were part of a NOAA team honored with a DOC Bronze Medal For planning and establishing a multi-departmental U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Project Office to define and document U.S. territorial limits. The process to determine the outer limits of the extended continental shelf involves the analysis of data that describe the depth, shape, and geophysical characteristics of the seabed and sub-seafloor, as well as the thickness of the underlying sediments. The specific types of data that need to be collected and analyzed include bathymetric data, seismic reflection and refraction data, other geophysical data such as magnetic and gravity data, and geologic samples.