The ocean floor is not all flat but has submarine ridges and deep ocean trenches known as the hadal zone. The deep-sea floor is called the abyssal plain and is usually about 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) deep. The continental slope drops down to the deep sea floor. At the continental shelf edge, usually about 200 metres (660 ft) deep, the gradient greatly increases and is known as the continental slope. The continental shelf is a gently sloping benthic region that extends away from the land mass. Thus, the region incorporates a great variety of physical conditions differing in: depth, light penetration and pressure. The benthic region of the ocean begins at the shore line ( intertidal or littoral zone) and extends downward along the surface of the continental shelf out to sea. Examples of contact soil layers include sand bottoms, rocky outcrops, coral, and bay mud.ĭescription Part of a series related to The benthic boundary layer, which includes the bottom layer of water and the uppermost layer of sediment directly influenced by the overlying water, is an integral part of the benthic zone, as it greatly influences the biological activity that takes place there. Organisms here generally live in close relationship with the substrate and many are permanently attached to the bottom. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "the depths." Organisms living in this zone are called benthos and include microorganisms (e.g., bacteria and fungi) as well as larger invertebrates, such as crustaceans and polychaetes. The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers.
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