Marine provinces

Question 1

What are the two major marine provinces?

Answer 1

Benthic (bottom)

Pelagic (water column)

Question 2

What is the pelagic environment broadly divided into?

Answer 2

Neritic zone (shallow water overlying the continental shelf)

Oceanic zone (deep water in open ocean beyond continental shelf break)

Question 3

What is the pelagic environment more specifically divided into? include depths.

Answer 3

Epipelagic zone (0-200m)

Mesopelagic zone (200-1000m)

Bathypelagic zone (1000-2000m)

Abyssalpelagic zone (2000-6000m)

Hadalpelagic zone (>6000m)

Question 4

What is the bethic environment divided up into? include depths.

Answer 4

Sublittoral zone (beach to shelf break, 0-200m)

Bathyal zone (shelf break seaward, 200-2000m)

Abyssal zone (deep ocean bottom, 2000-6000m)

Hadal zone (ocean trenches, >6000m)

Question 5

How is the ocean divided based upon depth of light penetration?

Answer 5

Photic zone: 0-100m, where light is sufficient for photosynthesis.

Dysphotic zone: 100-450m, where illumination is too weak for photosynthesis. Illumination is caused by long penetration from blue and green light.

Aphotic zone: 450->700m, this zone receives no light from the surface because it’s all absorbed by the water above.