How inappropriate to call this planet “Earth” when it is clearly “Ocean”— Arthur C. Clarke

Neritic & Open Ocean

Pelagic If you are swimming in the ocean and can’t touch the bottom, you are in the PELAGIC part of the ocean. Pelagic = Oceanic, Aquatic, Marine

Neritic Zone Open Ocean Zone

The Neritic Zone PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 1.How deep is it?  The average depth is about 200 meters---this is considered shallow in the ocean. 2.The neritic zone is the water above the continental shelf. How big is the shelf?  The average size of the continental shelf is about 65 km (40 miles). This is about the distance from Helena to Tuscaloosa or to Clanton.

The Neritic Zone COOL SIZE FACTS Like the depth of the water in all oceans, the continental shelf size around each continent varies.  Some parts of the coast of California have a continental shelf that is less than 1 km.  In northern Siberia, the continental shelf is nearly 1,290 km (800 miles!)

1.The Neritic Zone has more animals and plants than any other part of the ocean. Why?  Sunlight shines through the whole zone  Nutrients from land & upwelling photosynthesis  Sunlight (photosynthesis)+ Nutrients = FOOD 2.Most commercial fishing and deep sea fishing take place in the Neritic Zone. The Neritic Zone PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

CORAL REEFS The Neritic Zone Habitats CORAL REEFS 1.What is a coral?  Very tiny animals similar to a sea anemone--about the size of a pencil eraser  Build hard shells that remain after they die 2.What is a coral reef?  Living coral attach to the shells left by dead coral  After many years, a coral reef will form 3.Where are they found?  Shallow, tropical oceans near the equator

CORAL REEFS The Neritic Zone Habitats CORAL REEFS 3.What is an ATOLL?  A ring shaped reef surrounding a shallow lagoon  Formed from a sunken volcano encyclopedia/atoll/?ar_a=1 4.COOL FACTS: Bikini Atoll---part of the Pacific Proving Grounds during the Cold War (Red Scare). It was the site of more than 20 nuclear weapons tests between 1946 and 1958