Ocean science news, explainers, and statistics covering marine environments, currents, climate, coasts, seafloor research, and the changing global ocean.
An abyssal plain is an exceptionally flat part of the deep-ocean floor, commonly found between a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge. It lies beneath several kilometers of water and is covered by sediment that hides the rough volcanic crust below. On a relief map of Earth, abyssal plains rank among the smoothest large surfaces…
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The littoral zone is commonly the intertidal strip covered at high tide and exposed at low tide. The sublittoral zone, also called subtidal, begins below the low-tide line and remains submerged. Terminology varies among marine and freshwater fields, so a study’s definition should be checked. NOAA describes the intertidal zone as the meeting place of…
The neritic zone is ocean water over the continental shelf, from the low-tide edge to the shelf break. The oceanic zone begins beyond that break, where water overlies the continental slope and deep ocean basins. Distance from shore is only a rough clue because shelf width varies greatly. NOAA’s discussion of the pelagic environment places…
The pelagic zone is the open water column, from the surface to water just above the bottom. The benthic zone is the seabed and the sediment or rock immediately associated with it. A fish swimming a meter above mud is pelagic at that moment; a worm burrowing through the mud belongs to the benthic habitat.…
