The Ocean zones & a few other terms

A quick look at the Ocean Zones:
Scientists have divided the ocean into separate and distinct levels or zones, starting with the surface and going down to the very bottom in the following order...

• Epipelagic: this is the top ocean layer, this is at or near the surface of the open ocean, here the water is warmer from sunlight and photosynthesis is most effective.
• Mesopelagic: mid- ocean; this is the layer of ocean water between 200m and 800m down. Here sunlight penetrates the water enough to be beneficial tot he species that live there.
• Bathypelagic: deep water; where penetration of sunlight is extremely low. The layer ranges from 800m to 4,000m deep.
• Benthopelagic: the layer of ocean that is just above the bottom; the sea floor, where the term benthic refers to the sea floor itself.
• Bathyal Zone: the benthopelagic areas of the ocean that are on continental slopes.
• Abyssal Zones: These are the benthopelagic areas of the ocean that are ont he sea floor plain.

Hadopelagic: This is the really DEEP water, down in the deepest ocean trenches.

Fathom: A fathom is a unit of length in Standard English that is used to measure ocean depths. It is approximately 6 vertical feet. To get the total depth in feet from fathoms given, just multiply by 6. For example, 500 fathoms = 500 x 6ft. = 3,000 feet.

League: A league is also a unit of length (or distance) that is used to measure ocean depths. It is not used in science, but in literature. One league = 3 miles (or 4.8 km).

Challenger Deep: Challenger deep got it's name from the British survey ship Challenger II, which pinpointed the deep water off the Marianas Islands in 1951. Then in 1960, the US Navy sent the Trieste (a submersible - a mini-submarine designed to go really deep) down into the depths of the Marianas trench to see just how far they would go, they touched bottom at 35,838 ft/10,923m. That means, while they were parked on the bottom in the bathyscaphe, there were almost seven miles/11km of water over their heads!

If you cut Mount Everest off at sea level and put it on the ocean bottom in the Challenger Deep, there would still be over a mile of water over the top of it! Read more at http://www.extremescience.com/DeepestFish.htm