Open ocean
The open ocean is the sunlit top layer of the ocean beyond the continental shelves. The vast bulk of the sea, it covers over 360,000,000 square kilometres of the Earth's surface. It's referred to as the 'marine desert' because nutrients are lower here than in the shallow seas and life can be scarce. Open ocean, or pelagic, predators therefore have to travel fast and far to find food, hence many – such as marlin, tuna and dolphins – are swift swimmers.
What does it sound like?
Earth News
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Seamount diary: November 2009
A new project led by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) plans to unveil the mysteries of seamounts in the southern Indian Ocean, and help improve conservation and management of marine resources in the area.
What lives here?
Birds
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Magnificent frigatebird
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Red-billed tropicbird
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Chinstrap penguin
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Emperor penguin
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Wandering albatross
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Waved albatross
Cartilaginous fishes
Great white shark 
Manta ray Mammals
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Antarctic fur seal
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Crabeater seal
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Galápagos fur seal
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Leopard seal
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Southern Elephant Seal
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Southern sea lion
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Weddell seal
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Beluga whale
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Blue whale
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Grey whale
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Humpback whale
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Killer whale
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Pantropical spotted dolphin
Octopus, Squid and allies
Humboldt squid Ray-finned fishes
Atlantic sailfish Reptiles
Olive ridley turtles About Open ocean
Any water in the sea that is not close to the bottom is in the pelagic zone. The word pelagic comes from the Greek πέλαγος or pélagos, which means open sea.
It can be thought of in terms of an imaginary cylinder or water column that goes from the surface of the sea almost to the bottom, like the diagram on the left. Conditions change as you go deeper down the water column; the pressure increases and there is less light. Depending on the depth, scientists further subdivide the water column, rather like the earth's atmosphere is divided into different layers.
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Other Marine Habitats
- Deep ocean
- Estuaries
- Hydrothermal vents
- Open ocean
- Reefs
- Sea bed
- Shallow seas
Ecozones where this habitat is found
Useful adaptations for this habitat
Where you find Open ocean
Elsewhere on the web
- Pelagic (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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