Hadal zone

"Hadal" redirects here. For the album by Velcra, see Hadal (album).
Aquatic layers
Pelagic
   Photic
      Epipelagic
   Aphotic
      Mesopelagic
      Bathypelagic
      Abyssopelagic
      Hadopelagic
Demersal
Benthic
Stratification
Pycnocline
   Isopycnal
   Chemocline
      Halocline
   Thermocline
      Thermohaline
Marine habitats
Lake stratification
Aquatic ecosystems
Wild fisheries
The hadal zone is the deepest part of the marine environment

The hadal zone (named after the realm of Hades, the underworld in Greek mythology), also known as the hadopelagic zone and trench zone, is the delineation for the deepest trenches in the ocean. This zone is found from a depth of around 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) to the bottom of the ocean. The hadal zone has low population and low diversity of marine life.

Conditions

It is believed that most life at this depth is sustained by marine snow or the chemical reactions around thermal vents. The low nutrient level, extreme pressure and lack of sunlight create hostile living conditions in which few species are able to exist. As no sunlight reaches this layer of the ocean, deep sea creatures have reduced eyesight, with very large eyes for receiving only bioluminescent flashes.

The most common organisms include jellyfish, viperfish, tube worms and sea cucumbers.[1] The hadal zone can reach far below 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) deep; the deepest known extends to 10,911 meters (35,814 ft).[2] At such depths (for example, at 36,000 feet below sea level) the pressure in the hadal zone exceeds 1,100 standard atmospheres (110 MPa; 16,000 psi).

Exploration

In 1960, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh reached the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest known trench on Earth, and observed life.[3] James Cameron also reached the bottom in 2012 using the Deepsea Challenger.[4]

See also

Notes and references

  1. Meeresboden - down under. February 1, 2007. (German)
  2. "NOAA Ocean Explorer: History: Quotations: Soundings, Sea-Bottom, and Geophysics". NOAA, Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  3. ThinkQuest. February 1, 2007.
  4. Than, Ker (March 25, 2012). "James Cameron Completes Record-Breaking Mariana Trench Dive". National Geographic Society.

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.