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Historically, the hadal zone was not recognized as distinct from the abyssal zone, although the deepest sections were sometimes called "ultra-abyssal".During the early 1950s, the Danish Galathea II and Soviet Vityaz expeditions separately discovered a distinct shift in the life at depths of 6,000–7,000 m (20,000–23,000 ft) not recognized by the broad definition of the abyssal zone.
The mesopelagic zone is the disphotic zone, meaning light there is minimal but still measurable. The oxygen minimum layer exists somewhere between a depth of 700 metres (2,297 ft) and 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) deep depending on the place in the ocean. This area is also where nutrients are most abundant.
The ocean depths still remain a largely unexplored part of the Earth, and form a relatively undiscovered domain. Scientific deep-sea exploration can be said to have begun when French scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace investigated the average depth of the Atlantic Ocean by observing tidal motions registered on Brazilian and African coasts circa the ...
At depths of 4,000–6,000 m (13,000–20,000 ft), [2] this zone remains in perpetual darkness. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] It covers 83% of the total area of the ocean and 60% of Earth's surface. [ 5 ] The abyssal zone has temperatures around 2–3 °C (36–37 °F) through the large majority of its mass. [ 3 ]
Telescopefish participate in the diel vertical migration in which mesopelagic fish migrate to the surface at night to feed before returning to the depths to shelter during the day. [3] Much less is known of their reproductive habits. They are presumed to be nonguarding pelagic spawners, releasing eggs and sperm indiscriminately into the water.
Stomiidae is a family of deep-sea ray-finned fish, including the barbeled dragonfishes.They are quite small, usually around 15 cm, up to 26 cm. These fish are apex predators and have enormous jaws filled with fang-like teeth. [1]
The largest species, the 90-cm (3-ft) long abyssal halosaur (Halosauropsis macrochir) is also one of the most deep-living fish, recorded at depths of 3,300 m (11,000 ft). Halosaurs have developed certain adaptations to life at these extreme depths, where no light penetrates.
Lanternfish account for as much as 65 percent of all deep sea fish biomass and are largely responsible for the deep scattering layer of the world's oceans.. The phantom bottom is caused by the sonar misinterpreting as the ocean floor a layer of small seagoing creatures that congregate between 1,000 and 1,500 feet (300 and 460 m) below the surface.