Levels Of Light At Sea Floor

Here the only visible light is that produced by the creatures themselves.

Levels of light at sea floor.

The deep layers have unique sea creatures freezing temperatures and high pressure. Little or no light penetrates this part of the ocean and most of the organisms that live there rely for subsistence on falling organic matter produced in the photic zone for this reason scientists once assumed that life would be sparse. With the advancement in technology scientists are hopeful that the oceanic depths will be explored thoroughly. It is also called the euphotic zone here there is enough light penetrating the water to support photosynthesis.

Below is a summary of the ocean s 5 layers. Seafloor spreading occurs along mid ocean ridges large mountain ranges rising from the ocean floor. The mid atlantic ridge for instance separates the north american plate from the eurasian plate and the south american plate from the african plate the east pacific rise is a mid ocean ridge that runs through the eastern pacific ocean and separates the pacific plate from the north american. Hadalpelagic zone the trenches.

Although some sea creatures depend on light to live others can do without it. Sunlight entering the water may travel about 1 000 meters 3 280 feet into the ocean under the right conditions but there is rarely any significant light beyond 200 meters 656 feet. Submersible radiometers or light meters measure ultraviolet and visible light and detect extremely low light levels in the deep sea. This is the top layer nearest the surface.

The ocean can be divided from its surface to its depth into three zones based on the amount of light received they are. The deep sea or deep layer is the lowest layer in the ocean existing below the thermocline and above the seabed at a depth of 1000 fathoms 1800 m or more. Running through all the world s oceans is a continuous mountain range called the mid ocean ridge submarine ridge in figure 14 23. Sperm whales can dive down to this level in search of food.

As the depth increases the temperature light and sea life decreases. In spite of the pressure a surprisingly large number of creatures can be found here. Because photosynthesis occurs here more than 90 percent of all marine life lives in the. The sea floor then drops off steeply along the continental slope the true edge of the continent.

The ocean is divided into three zones based on depth and light level. The water pressure at this depth is immense reaching 5 850 pounds per square inch. Instruments to measure light.