Key Vocabulary Terms
Review the key terms below in order to answer the quiz questions and unlock some of our favorite ocean zone photos!
Abyssopelagic: inhabiting the deepest parts of the sea where there is no light and temperatures hover around freezing, approximately 9,800-19,700 feet below the surface.
Adaptations: the adjustment or changes in behavior, physiology, and structure of an organism to become more suited to an environment.
Aphotic Zone: that part of the deep body of an ocean or lake that receives insufficient sunlight for photosynthesis to be possible.
Bathypelagic: inhabiting the deep sea where the environment is dark and cold, approximately 3,300-9,800 feet below the surface.
Benthic: relating to, or living or occurring at the bottom of a body of water.
Continental Shelf: the area of seabed around a large landmass where the sea is relatively shallow compared with the open ocean. The continental shelf is geologically part of the continental crust.
Epipelagic: of, relating to, or constituting the part of the oceanic zone into which enough light penetrates for photosynthesis.
Hadalpelagic: The bottommost layer of the oceanic zone, lying below the abyssopelagic zone at depths greater than about 19,680 ft. This zone consist of trenches and valleys found on the ocean floor.
Mesopelagic: inhabiting the intermediate depths of the sea, approximately 650-3,300 feet below the surface.
Ocean Zones: the region of the open sea beyond the edge of the continental shelf, where the depth is greater than 650 feet.
Pelagic: relating to, or living or occurring in the open sea
Photic Zone: the upper layer of a body of water delineated by the depth to which enough sunlight can penetrate to permit photosynthesis.