Environment Classification Methods Marine scientists classify marine environments

Environment Classification Methods

§ Marine scientists classify marine environments by dividing the seas into many different regions based on physical characteristics.

Ocean Zones

The pelagic and benthic zones § The most basic division of the ocean based on location is between the water column and the bottom. § The water portion is called the pelagic zone. § The bottom is called the benthic zone.

The neritic and oceanic zones § The pelagic zone is divided into two horizontal zones – neritic and oceanic. § The neritic zone is the water area between the low tide mark to the edge of the continental shelf. § The oceanic zone is the open water area beyond that.

the epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssalpelagic, and hadalpelagic zones § The oceanic zone is further divided into vertical regions called the epipelagic zone, mesopelagic zone, bathypelagic zone, abyssalpelagic zone, and the hadalpelagic zone.

§ The _______ is the top layer that sunlight penetrates. § Below the _______ lies the _______, which sunlight reaches but not strongly enough to support life. § Below the _______ are the bathypelagic, _______, and the _______. The bathypelagic zone is the deep water in the open ocean. § The _______ is the even deeper water in oceanic trenches. § _______ is the deeper water in the ocean trenches.

the supralittoral, sublittoral, outer sublittoral, bathyal, abyssal, and hadal zones § The _______ is divided based on depth. § Moving from shore toward the open ocean, the first zone is the _______. This is the zone that water splashes, but it does not remain submerged. § Beyond that lies the _______, which is the bottom area between the high-tide and low -tide mark so that is sometimes submerged and sometimes above water.

§ Beyond the _______ is the continental shelf. This area is divided into the sublittoral zone and outer _______ § The _______ is the ocean bottom close to shore. § The outer _______ is the ocean bottom out to the edge of the continental shelf.

§ The _______ is the bottom along the continual slope down to the _______. § The deep open ocean bottom is called the _______. § The deepest zone, areas below 6, 000 meters (19, 685 feet) is called the _______.