Zones of the Open Ocean
Oceanographers divide the ocean into three broad zones. Together, they could hide 20 Washington Monuments stacked on top of each other. Each zone has a different mix of species adapted to its light levels, pressures, and temperatures. About three-fourths of the ocean is deep, permanently dark, and cold. Learn more about these different zones.
View Related Ocean Media Content
-
Oiled Seaweed after the Gulf Oil Spill
-
NOAA's Adopt a Drifter Program
-
Scientist Collects Oil on the Gulf Coast
-
Bacteria Live in the Titanic Wreck
-
Octopod on Submersible Arm
-
'Blue Marble' Image of the Earth
-
Jorge Velez-Juarbe
-
Multispecies Communities of Seacows
-
Map of Oceana's 2011 Baltic Expedition
-
Searching for Life -- Epibionts -- On Sea Turtles
-
Inuit Soapstone Pot
-
Early Eskimo Point
-
Eocene Whales and Penguins Off the Coast of Peru
-
Ancient Maritime Archaic Indian Point
-
Underwater Archaeological Stratigraphy
-
Ceramic Pottery Recovered from Early Whaling Community
-
Archaeological Site Map of Hare Harbor
-
Fragment of a European Bellarmine Jug
-
Excavation of an Inuit House
-
Map of Early European Whaling Region
-
Midwater Squid, Abralia veranyi
-
Lanternfish
-
Arctic Sea Ice Extent Graph
-
NASA Spots Four Tropical Storms in Atlantic Basin on Sept 8, 2011
-
Map of the Magnitude 5.8 Virginia Earthquake of 2011
Share your comments here.
* When you click submit, your comment will be added to the queue for review and will be published after approval.
Comments
Two things- Maybe include a small thumbnail version of the zone picture to one side- perhaps with a box showing where you are on the picture. Perception of depth can be lost to scrolling if you can't see the entire picture. Secondly- more pictures of ocean animals are needed. It would be nice to include those depths to which people have traveled (by scuba, sub, and ROV) as well! Thanks!
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 9:30am.1. It would be helpful if you could click on different options such as vertical zonation by depth or by amount of light and present the appropriate terminology for that type of zonation: epipelagic, mesopelagic, etc. vs photic, twilight and aphotic zone.
2. When the only organisms shown are animals, students don't appreciate the diversity of the ocean or the importance of the producers to the ecosystems. Please include phytoplankton, kelp, etc.
3. There could be an active link on the photos of the organisms identifying the creatures or providing more information about the dominant organisms of the zone.
this page is very helpful thank you
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 05/25/2010 - 5:25am.this is a very bad web site in my opinon
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 12:44pm.you did not put my comment up there thats mest up[
+
Thanks for your comment.
While on-topic discussion is encouraged, we ask that you express yourself in a civil manner and treat other users with respect. The Smithsonian monitors and may remove posts consistent with its terms of use, as described at http://si.edu/Termsofuse#user-gen. Due to comment moderation, it may take up to 24 hours to see your approved post appear on the site.
Thanks,
The Ocean Portal Team
comment_wrapper_curve






















comment_wrapper_curve_top