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The mesopelagic zone plays a key role in the ocean's biological pump, which contributes to the oceanic carbon cycle. In the biological pump, organic carbon is produced in the surface euphotic zone where light promotes photosynthesis. A fraction of this production is exported out of the surface mixed layer and into the mesopelagic zone.
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word pelagic is derived from Ancient Greek πέλαγος (pélagos) 'open sea'. [1] The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the surface of the sea and the bottom.
Most mesopelagic fish are ambush predators with upward-facing eyes, like this sabertooth fish. The mesopelagic zone is the upper section of the midwater zone, and extends from 200 to 1,000 metres (660 to 3,280 ft) below sea level. This is colloquially known as the "twilight zone" as light can still penetrate this layer, but it is too low to ...
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.
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 mesopelagic zone is the disphotic zone, meaning light there is minimal but still measurable. The oxygen minimum layer exists somewhere between a depth of 700 and 1,000 metres (2,300-3,300 ft) deep depending on the place in the ocean. This area is also where nutrients are most abundant.
The mesopelagic zone is a layer of the oceanic zone lying beneath the epipelagic zone and above the bathypelagic zone, at depths generally between 200 and 1,000 m (656 and 3,280 ft). The mesopelagic zone receives very little sunlight and is home to many bioluminescent organisms.
The mesopelagic is sometimes referred to as the dysphotic zone. In the ocean, the aphotic zone is sometimes referred to as the dark ocean. Depending on how it is defined, the aphotic zone of the ocean begins between depths of about 200 m (660 ft) to 800 m (2,600 ft) and extends to the ocean floor.