Deeper Pelagic Zones
The Oceans are divided into layers, extending from the surface to the deepest part of the ocean.
The surface layer (down to 200m or 600 ft) is known as the Epipelagic layer or "Sunlight Zone". A majority of plant and animal life lives here due to the amounts of sunlight.
Mesopelagic Zone
Also known as the "Middle Pelagic" or "Twilight Zone"
'Meso' meaning middle
Extends from a depth of 200 to 1000 m (600 to 3300 ft)
Some light penetrates this zone, but not enough for photosynthesis.
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Bathypelagic Zone
Also known as the "Bathyal Zone" or "Midnight Zone"
'Bathy' meaning deep
Extends from a depth of 1000 to 4000 m (3300 to 13,100 ft)
Sunlight does not reach this zone.
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Abyssopelagic Zone
Also known as the "Abyssal Zone" or "Abyss"
'Abyss' meaning bottomless
Extends from a depth of 4000 to 6000 m (13,100 to 20,000 ft)
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Hadalpelagic Zone
Also known as the "Hadal Zone"
"Hadal" referring to Hades
Extends from a depth of 6000 to 11,000 m (20,000 to 36,000 ft)
This zone lies within ocean trenches.
Benthic Zone
The Sea floor
Animal Life
Mesopelagic
- Cookie Cutter Shark
- Sword Fish
- Lanternfish
- Barreleye
Bathypelagic
- Giant Squid
- Anglerfish
- Fangtooth
- Viperfish
- Telescopefish
- Gulper Eel
Abyssopelagic
Hadalpelagic
Benthopelagic/Benthic
- Rattail
- Flatfish
- Hagfish
- Lumpfish
Hydro thermal Vents and Cold Seeps
Hydro thermal Vents
Vents are located on tectonic plate boundaries, approximately 7000 to 8000 ft in depth.
When the plates move, the cold water seeps into cracks in the crust, mixing with the magma beneath. The present magma heats the water, and the pressure pushes it back into the sea, creating the stream of hot water. Vents can reach a temperature of up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit!
Black Smokers are the hottest kind of vent, mixing with iron and sulfides, it takes on a dark color.
White Smokers, typically smaller and colder than that of the Black Smokers, does not mix with any metals and therefore they come out white.
The tall (up to 10m tall) structure the heated fluid comes out of is called a chimney. Chimneys are fragile and can collapse under their own weight.
Hydro thermal vents aren't very long lasting.
Hydro thermal Vent life
Life around vents feed on the chemical-rich fluids from the seafloor and vent to sustain themselves, in a process called chemo-synthesis.
Cold Seeps
Cold Seeps are similar to Vents except for the chemicals involved (Methane, Hydrocarbon), the temperature is slightly closer to the seas, and Cold Seeps last a lot longer than Hydro thermal Vents. Worms that live around Seeps are the longest living invertebrates in the world.
Cold Seep Life
Gallery
Video
BBC Planet Earth Blue Planet - Deep ocean creatures
The Amazing "Abyss"
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