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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.
Temperatures in the Mesopelagic zone range from 5 to 4 °C (41 to 39 °F). The pressure is higher here, it can be up to 10,100 kilopascals (1,460 psi) and increases with depth. [1] 54% of the ocean lies in the Bathypelagic (aphotic) zone into which no light penetrates. This is also called the midnight zone and the deep ocean.
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.
Oarfish typically live in the mesopelagic zone — the area of the ocean least explored by scientists. They float vertically through waters 3,280 feet deep, where there is little light. Their ...
This deep-ocean DIC returns to the atmosphere on millennial timescales through thermohaline circulation. Between 1% and 40% of the primary production is exported out of the euphotic zone, which attenuates exponentially towards the base of the mesopelagic zone and only about 1% of the surface production reaches the sea floor. [61] [64] [56]
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.
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