The deep ocean is the lowest layer in an ocean, existing below the thermocline. The deep ocean is not well mixed, consists of horizontal layers of equal density, and is often as cold as -1 to 4 degrees Celsius (32 to 37 degrees Fahrenheit). 4 degrees Celsius is considered to be the most dense in terms of molecules per liter. Ninety percent of the total volume of Earth's oceans is found in the deep ocean. The worlds oceans as seen from the South Pacific Ocean Oceans (from Okeanos in Greek, the ancient Greeks noticing the strong current that flowed off Gibraltar and assuming it was a great river) cover almost three quarters (71%) of the surface of the Earth, and nearly half of the... The thermocline is a layer within a body of water where the temperature changes rapidly with depth. ... Density (symbol: Ï - Greek: rho) is a measure of mass per volume. ...
See also:surface layer - salinity The surface layer is the top layer in a body of water, such as an ocean. ... Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ...
External links
"Temperature of Ocean Water", University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, University of Michigan.
Life on Earth almost certainly evolved in the ocean and the whole ocean environment, down to the very greatest depths, is populated by living organisms.
Gyres Circular movements of the oceans, particularly the enormous ones stirring the surface layers of the Atlantic and Pacific in clockwise directions in the northern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the southern Hemisphere.
Deep beneath the surface another current system gently stirs the waters of the ocean and is much more important for the animals of the deep sea.
We're talking deep that is so far down in the ocean it's hard to fathom* (where do you think the expression came from?).
In order to understand the ocean better scientists have broken it down into separate and distinct levels or zones, starting with the surface and going down to the very bottom in the order that follows...
A fathom is a unit of length in Standard English that is used to measure ocean depths.
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