Celebes Sea
The Celebes Sea (or Sulawesi Sea) (in Malay and Indonesian, Laut Sulawesi) lies in the western part of the Pacific Ocean.
The Celebes Sea is a piece of an ancient ocean basin that formed 42 million years ago in an environment far removed from any land mass. Beginning 20 million years ago, ossification movement has pushed this ocean pool close enough to volcanoes in Indonesia and the Philippines to receive volcanic debris. Since 10 million years ago, the Celebes Sea was inundated with continental drift, including coal that fell from the young ridges of Borneo, and that basin has joined Eurasia.
It is bounded by the Sulu Archipelago to the north, the Sulu Sea, and Mindanao Island, Philippines. To the east lie the Sangi Islands, to the south the island of Celebes and to the west the island of Borneo. It occupies an area of 472,000 km², reaching depths of up to 6,200 m.
The boundary between the Sulawesi and Sulu seas is on the Sibutu-Basilan fault line. Strong ocean currents, deep ocean trenches, and high seamounts, combined with volcanic islands, result in the formation of complex oceanographic features.
Geology
The Celebes Sea underlies an oceanic plate with a mid-oceanic extent in the middle. This plate is subducting to the south and north. Several seismic surveys and research drilling have been carried out in this area to obtain geological information. The geology of the Celebes Sea has been described in the Geology of Indonesia Wikibook.
The Celebes Sea is a piece of an ancient ocean basin that formed 42 million years ago in a location far from any land mass. By 20 million years ago, the movement of the Earth's crust had brought the basin close enough to the Indonesian and Philippine volcanoes to receive the emitted debris. 10 million years ago, the Celebes Sea was inundated with continental debris, including the coal, which broke off a young growing mountain in Borneo and the basin docked with Eurasia.
Climate
The dominant climate in this area is tropical. Between the Celebes Basin and the Philippine Trench, water exchange with the Pacific Ocean takes place. In summer, the monsoon causes the exchange of water with the Java Sea through the Makassar Strait.
Marine life
The Celebes Sea is home to many species of fish and underwater creatures. The tropical setting and warm, clear waters provide habitat for approximately 580 of the 793 species of reef-building corals that are some of the richest in the world, and an impressive variety of underwater life, including whales and dolphins, sea turtles, rays, eagle rays, barracuda, marlin as well as corals and pelagic species. Tuna and yellowfin tuna are also plentiful.
In addition to the abundance of fish in the Sulawesi Sea, this sea also produces products such as seaweed and herbs.
Delimitation of the IHO
The highest international authority on sea delimitation, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), considers the Celebes Sea to be a sea. In his world reference publication, Limits of oceans and seas (Limits of oceans and seas, 3rd edition of 1953), he assigns it the identification number 48b, within the East Indies archipelago and defines it as in the following way:
North.
The southern boundary of the sea of Sulu (48 a) and the south-west coast of Mindanao.
East.
A line from Tanjong Tinaka, the southern tip of Mindanao, to the northern tip of Sangi (3°45'N, 125°26'E) and from there through the Sangi Islands to Tanjong Poeisan, the northeast end of Célebes.
South.
The northern coast of Célebes between Tanjong Poeisan and Stroomenkaap (cabo Rivers) (1°20'N, 120°52'E) and from there to Ene up to Tanjong Mangkalihat, in Borneo, the northern boundary of the Makassar Strait (48 m).
West.
Labian, the southern boundary of the sea of Sulu (48 a).Limits of oceans and you are, p. 25-26.
Delimitation of the border of the Exclusive Economic Zone
On May 23, 2013, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia signed an agreement to establish the boundary line delimiting the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of each of the two countries. It has been agreed that north of the border line will be under the jurisdiction of the Philippines (referred to as the Mindanao Sea) and Indonesia will be south of the boundary line (referred to as the Celebes Sea).
| Period | Latitude | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3° 06’41 N | 119° 55’ 34 E |
| 2 | 3° 26’ 36 N | 121° 21′ 31 E |
| 3 | 3° 48′ 58 N | 122° 56′ 03 E |
| 4 | 4° 57′ 42 N | 124° 51′ 17 E |
| 5 | 5° 02′ 48 N | 125° 28’ 20 E |
| 6 | 6° 25′ 21 N | 127° 11′ 42 E |
| 7 | 6° 24′ 25 N | 128° 39′ 02′′′ E |
| 8 | 6° 24′ 20 N | 129° 31’ 31 E |
Pirates of Sulawesi
The Celebes Sea is known for the existence of pirates who attack fishing boats and even large cargo ships. To avoid their action, the authorities fight pirates through modern technologies with fast boats, radars and GPS. To protect tourism, Malaysia has deployed its navy to this sea, to prevent a recurrence of the hostage-taking that took place in 2000 by Philippine rebels.
New species
Filipino and US scientists have reportedly found between 50 and 100 new species of fauna and marine life in the Celebes Sea between the Philippines and Indonesia, one of the largest reserves of biodiversity on the planet.
Among them are an orange cucumber, a small fish similar to the one featured in the Disney movie Finding Nemo, and a worm with tentacles coming out of its head. Earlier this month, a team of scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and the National Geographic organization, in collaboration with the Philippine government, combed a large area of the Celebes Sea that At the moment it is safe from the rise of the water level due to global warming. More than 100 new species have just been discovered in this curious sea.