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The oceanic zone is typically defined as the area of the ocean lying beyond the continental shelf (e.g. the neritic zone), but operationally is often referred to as beginning where the water depths drop to below 200 metres (660 ft), seaward from the coast into the open ocean with its pelagic zone.
The borders of the oceans are the limits of Earth's oceanic waters.The definition and number of oceans can vary depending on the adopted criteria. The principal divisions (in descending order of area) of the five oceans are the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern (Antarctic) Ocean, and Arctic Ocean.
For purposes of this list, "maritime boundary" includes boundaries that are recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which includes boundaries of territorial waters, contiguous zones, and exclusive economic zones. However, it does not include lake or river boundaries.
The ocean zones can be grouped by light penetration into (from top to bottom): the photic zone, the mesopelagic zone and the aphotic deep ocean zone: The photic zone is defined to be "the depth at which light intensity is only 1% of the surface value". [12]: 36 This is usually up to a depth of approximately 200 m in the open ocean.
Ocean – the four to seven largest named bodies of water in the World Ocean, all of which have "Ocean" in the name (see: Borders of the oceans for details). Sea has several definitions: [a] A division of an ocean, delineated by landforms, [6] currents (e.g., Sargasso Sea), or specific latitude or longitude boundaries. This includes but is not ...
The illuminated zone at the surface of the sea with sufficient light for photosynthesis. Nearly all primary production in the ocean occurs here, and marine life is concentrated in this zone, including plankton, floating seaweed, jellyfish, tuna, many sharks and dolphins.
It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin consists of three different features: the continental rise, the continental slope, and the continental shelf. [1] Continental margins constitute about 28% of the oceanic area. [2]
The ocean contains 97% of Earth's water and is the primary component of Earth's hydrosphere and is thereby essential to life on Earth. The ocean influences climate and weather patterns, the carbon cycle, and the water cycle by acting as a huge heat reservoir. (Full article...) Waves in Pacifica, California. A sea is a large body of salt water.