I hear that they start 5 miles off land. But for my sci-fi story I have a problem. The Government decides to seal all borders and does this through a barrier that surrounds the entire continent. So, knowing that once this barrier is activated you're stuck with what you have for an indefinite amount of time, how far would it extend into international waters?
Where do International begins (Paticular Scenario)
- Thread starter CalGrave
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It used to be the distance a cannon could fire out to sea but that's changed now. There are many different national boundaries. About 130 countries have a UN sponsored agreement. I thing Iceland has 25 miles to fish for cod. But there is no one single distance. Google it and see.
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I searched on international waters limits and found this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_waters
Looks like 12 nautical miles is the UN-agreed standard.
If you're interested in a particular country, try a variant on the search above, adding the country's name.
-Derek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_waters
Looks like 12 nautical miles is the UN-agreed standard.
If you're interested in a particular country, try a variant on the search above, adding the country's name.
-Derek
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International waters start at 3-12 miles, depending on the country and where it is.
However, I would suggest a compromise of sorts: Even if you have the energy issues worked out, and the resources for whatever units are maintaining the field (there is a limited amount of metal and plastic you can use!), they would limit the amount of ocean protected to the resources that they can get from that area (off-shore oil wells, fishing shoals, etc.). If there weren't a lot of resources coming from that area, odds are the boundaries would hug the coast (maybe a mile or less in some places).
If it helps...
FR
However, I would suggest a compromise of sorts: Even if you have the energy issues worked out, and the resources for whatever units are maintaining the field (there is a limited amount of metal and plastic you can use!), they would limit the amount of ocean protected to the resources that they can get from that area (off-shore oil wells, fishing shoals, etc.). If there weren't a lot of resources coming from that area, odds are the boundaries would hug the coast (maybe a mile or less in some places).
If it helps...
FR
How zig-zaggy can the barrier be? Can it follow the irregular path of the actual coastline, or does it need to have smooth curves? If you decide on a specific distance, say 12 miles out, then 12 miles out from what? The "average" coastline, the farthest-extending peninsula, or offshore islands?
12NM is the standard, though some nations (like the US) have an Air Defense Interdiction Zone (ADIZ) that extends about 250NM from the US coasts (though I have also seen it identified as 250 statute miles, which I consider erroneous, since both aviation and naval disciplines rely more on nautical miles than statute). More can be found here at Wikipedia, though some declarations are intentionally vague.
And the boundary would be expected to follow the irregularities of the coastline.
And the boundary would be expected to follow the irregularities of the coastline.
So it looks like the distance will not be uniform depending on the country. It'll take some research to deal with how much certain countries will get The objective of the barrier is containment and it's going to last for about a century. The irregular barrier is expected it will get expecially messy for countries that are close together but for the sake of simplicity I'll have the entire North American continent under the same barrier, so there would still be access to Canada and Mexico. One country can't have an advantage over another but as you brought up Finbar, some would not need a lot, and others could afford to hug the coast but they'll still need enough breathing room to function.
I guess I can narrow it down to this: Assuming that the US was to enact a policy of absolute isolation, how much would it need bare minimum? This means it will no longer have acess to any major air defense zones.
The idea is that with every major country sealed off from each other, the threat of major international invasions would end. This would not eliminate the need for any air defense system because certain countries will still have access to each other(Mexico and Canada for the US). But its primary attention would be focused on immediate threats as opposed to an invasion from foreign enemies.
This has been very helpful by the way.
I guess I can narrow it down to this: Assuming that the US was to enact a policy of absolute isolation, how much would it need bare minimum? This means it will no longer have acess to any major air defense zones.
The idea is that with every major country sealed off from each other, the threat of major international invasions would end. This would not eliminate the need for any air defense system because certain countries will still have access to each other(Mexico and Canada for the US). But its primary attention would be focused on immediate threats as opposed to an invasion from foreign enemies.
This has been very helpful by the way.