1. The Twilight Zone Just below 100 metres, the ocean midwater becomes a world of gloom, where dazzling bioluminescent drifters and fish of bright silver shimmer in the twilight expanse. WATCH NOW 3. The Abyssal Plain Beneath the crushing pressure of kilometres of water lies a great sea of...
The oceans are divided into distinct zones: the Intertidal, pelagic, abyssal, and Benthic. The intertidal zone is the place where land meets the ocean. It may be exposed or completely submerged as a result of tidal waves. It is home to algae, molluscs, snails, crabs, sea stars, clams et...
It exists above two deeper layers of the ocean: the abyssal zone and the hadal zone. However, it is deep enough that no sunlight reaches this region. Because no sunlight touches those waters, the bathyal zone is also known as the “midnight zone.” The temperature typically stays around ...
Even more astounding is the tiny benthic octopus (Vulcanoctopus hydrothermalis) living at the abyssal depths of 2,000 metres (6,600 feet). Interesting Fact: Out of all octopus species, only the cirrate (ear-like fins) Dumbo octopus (Grimpoteuthis) has been photographed within the oceanic t...
abyssal zone: Related Content Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus ofEncyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them. ...
Atlantic Ocean, body of salt water covering about one-fifth of Earth’s surface and separating the continents of Europe and Africa to the east from those of North and South America to the west. Its name, derived from Greek mythology, means the ‘Sea of A
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica Facts Also Known Asocean ecosystem • sea ecosystem Photos and Videos See All Videos and Images → Related Topics and References Topics abyssal zonebathyal zonebottom waterlittoral zonehaloclinephotic zonedeep-scattering layerneritic zoneaphotic zonehada...
The deep portion, called the China Sea Basin, has a maximum depth of 16,457 feet (5,016 metres) and an abyssal plain with a mean depth of some 14,100 feet (4,300 metres). Along the eastern side of the basin, the continental shelf falls off sharply near the Philippine islands of ...
zone include the sessile hydrozoans,corals,sponges, and bryozoans, as well as theforagingcrablikesea spidersandisopods, the annelid wormpolychaete, echinoids,starfish, and a variety ofcrustaceansandmollusks. At the sea bottom there are alsoeelpouts,sea snails,rat-tailed fishes, and codlikefishes...
Pelagic zone, ecological realm that includes the entire ocean water column. Of all the inhabited Earth environments, the pelagic zone has the largest volume, 1,370,000,000 kilometers (330,000,000 cubic miles), and the greatest vertical range, 11,000 mete