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 epipelagic zone is incredibly important due to its productivity and ability to help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These primary producers become the food source for hundred of other organisms such as sharks, stingrays, tuna, and sea turtles. Among other organisms, the photic zone is home to vital communities of phytoplankton, zooplankton, and algae. Although it is only 2 to 3 percent of the entire ocean, the epipelagic zone is home to a massive number of organisms. It is the depth of water to which sunlight is able to penetrate. The epipelagic zone, otherwise known as the sunlit zone or the euphotic zone, goes to a depth of about 200 meters (656 feet). The term water column is also commonly used in scuba diving to describe the vertical space through which divers ascend and descend. Some of the common parameters analyzed in the water column are pH, turbidity, temperature, hydrostatic pressure, salinity, total dissolved solids, various pesticides, pathogens and a wide variety of chemicals and biota.ĭescriptively, the deep sea water column is divided into five parts- pelagic zones (from Greek πέλαγος (pélagos), 'open sea')-from the surface to below the floor. Water columns are used chiefly for environmental studies evaluating the stratification or mixing of thermal or chemically stratified layers in a lake, stream or ocean. Studying the water column also provides understanding on the links between living organisms and environmental parameters, large-scale water circulation and the transfer of matter between water masses. The water column is the largest, yet one of the most under-explored, habitats on the planet we explore it to better understand the ocean as a whole, including the huge biomass that lives there and its importance to the global carbon and other biogeochemical cycles. Generally, vertical profiles are made of temperature, salinity, chemical parameters at a defined point along the water column. The (oceanic) water column is a concept used in oceanography to describe the physical (temperature, salinity, light penetration) and chemical (pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrient salts) characteristics of seawater at different depths for a defined geographical point.
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