The bathypelagic zone or bathyal zone (from Greek βαθύς (bathýs), deep) is the part of the open ocean that extends from a depth of below the ocean surface. It lies between the

mesopelagic The mesopelagic zone (Greek language, Greek μέσον, middle), also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones. It is defined by light ...

above and the abyssopelagic below. The bathypelagic is also known as the midnight zone because of the lack of sunlight; this feature does not allow for

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

-driven

primary production In ecology, primary production is the synthesis of organic compounds from atmospheric or aqueous carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it also occurs through ...

, preventing growth of

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater Aquatic ecosystem, ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), mea ...

aquatic plant Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and Non-vascular plant, non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic ecosystem, aquatic environments (marine ecosystem, saltwater or freshwater ecosystem, freshwater ...

s. Although larger by volume than the

photic zone The photic zone (or euphotic zone, epipelagic zone, or sunlight zone) is the uppermost layer of a body of water that receives sunlight, allowing phytoplankton to perform photosynthesis. It undergoes a series of physical, chemical, and biological ...

, human knowledge of the bathypelagic zone remains limited by ability to explore the deep ocean.

Physical characteristics

The bathypelagic zone is characterized by a nearly constant temperature of approximately and a salinity range of 33-35 g/kg. This region has little to no light because sunlight does not reach this deep in the ocean and

bioluminescence Bioluminescence is the emission of light during a chemiluminescence reaction by living organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in multifarious organisms ranging from marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some Fungus, fungi, microorgani ...

is limited. The

hydrostatic pressure Hydrostatics is the branch of fluid mechanics that studies fluids at hydrostatic equilibrium and "the pressure in a fluid or exerted by a fluid on an immersed body". The word "hydrostatics" is sometimes used to refer specifically to water and o ...

in this zone ranges from 100-400 atmospheres (atm) due to the increase of 1 atm for every 10 m depth. It is believed that these conditions have been consistent for the past 8000 years. This ocean depth spans from the edge of the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

down to the top of the

abyssal zone The abyssal zone or abyssopelagic zone is a layer of the pelagic zone of the ocean. The word ''abyss'' comes from the Greek word (), meaning "bottomless". At depths of , this zone remains in perpetual darkness. It covers 83% of the total area ...

, and along

continental slope A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margi ...

depths. The bathymetry of the bathypelagic zone consists of limited areas where the seafloor is in this depth range along the deepest parts of the

continental margin A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental marg ...

s, as well as

seamount A seamount is a large submarine landform that rises from the ocean floor without reaching the water surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet, or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abruptly a ...

s and

mid-ocean ridge A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a undersea mountain range, seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about and rises about above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading ...

s. The continental slopes are mostly made up of accumulated sediment, while seamounts and mid-ocean ridges contain large areas of hard substrate that provide habitats for bathypelagic fishes and benthic invertebrates. Although currents at these depths are very slow, the topography of seamounts interrupts the

currents Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (hy ...

and creates eddies that retain plankton in the seamount region, thus increasing fauna nearby as well

Hydrothermal vent Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hot ...

s are also a common feature in some areas of the bathypelagic zone and are primarily formed from the spreading of Earth's

tectonic plates Plate tectonics (, ) is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of , an idea developed durin ...

s. As the bathypelagic region lacks light, these vents play an important role in global ocean chemical processes, thus supporting unique ecosystems that have adapted to utilize chemicals as energy, via chemoautotrophy, instead of sunlight, to sustain themselves. In addition,

hydrothermal vent Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hot ...

s facilitate precipitation of minerals on the seafloor, making them regions of interest for deep-sea mining.

Biogeochemistry

Many of the biogeochemical processes in the bathypelagic region are dependent upon the input of

organic matter Organic matter, organic material or natural organic matter is the large source of carbon-based compounds found within natural and engineered, terrestrial, and aquatic environments. It is matter composed of organic compounds that have come fro ...

from the overlying

epipelagic The photic zone (or euphotic zone, epipelagic zone, or sunlight zone) is the uppermost layer of a body of water that receives sunlight, allowing phytoplankton to perform photosynthesis. It undergoes a series of physical, chemical, and biological ...

and

zones. This organic material, sometimes called

marine snow In the deep ocean, marine snow (also known as "ocean dandruff") is a continuous shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper layers of the water column. It is a significant means of exporting energy from the light-rich photic zone to ...

, sinks in the water column or is transported within downward convected water masses such as the

Thermohaline Circulation Thermohaline circulation (THC) is a part of the large-scale Ocean current, ocean circulation driven by global density gradients formed by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The name ''thermohaline'' is derived from ''wikt:thermo-, thermo-'', r ...

s also deliver heat and chemicals such as

sulfide Sulfide (also sulphide in British English) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to large families o ...

and

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

. These chemicals can be utilized to sustain metabolism by organisms in the region. Our understanding of these biogeochemical processes has historically been limited due to the difficulty and cost of collecting samples from these ocean depths. Other technological challenges, such as measuring microbial activity under the pressure conditions experienced in the bathypelagic zone, have also restricted our knowledge of the region. Although scientific advancements have increased our understanding over the past several decades, many aspects remain a mystery. One of the major areas of current research is focused on understanding carbon remineralization rates in the region. Prior studies have struggled to quantify the rates at which

prokaryote A prokaryote (; less commonly spelled procaryote) is a unicellular organism, single-celled organism whose cell (biology), cell lacks a cell nucleus, nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. The word ''prokaryote'' comes from the Ancient Gree ...

s in this region remineralize

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

because previously developed techniques may not be adequate for this region, and indicate remineralization rates much higher than expected. Further work is needed to explore this question, and may require revisions to our understanding of the global carbon cycle. Marine_snow

Particulate organic matter

Organic material from

in the epipelagic zone, and to a far lesser extent, organic inputs from terrestrial sources, make up a majority of the Particulate Organic Matter (POM) in the ocean. POM is delivered to the bathypelagic zone via sinking

copepod Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...

fecal pellets and dead organisms; these parcels of organic matter fall through the water column and deliver organic

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

, and

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

, to organisms that live below the photic zone. These parcels are sometimes referred to as

or ocean dandruff. This is also the dominant delivery mechanism of food to organisms in the bathypelagic zone because there is no sunlight for

, with chemoautotrophy playing a more minor role as far as we know. As POM sinks through the water column, it is consumed by organisms which deplete it of nutrients. The size and density of these particles affect their likelihood of reaching organisms in the bathypelagic zone. Smaller parcels of POM often become aggregated together as they fall, which quickens their descent and prohibits their consumption by other organisms, increasing their likelihood of reaching lower depths. The density of these particles may be increased in some regions where minerals associated with some forms of phytoplankton, such as biogenic silica and

calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a common substance found in Rock (geology), rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite, most notably in chalk and limestone, eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skel ...

"ballast" resulting in more rapid transport to deeper depth.

Carbon

A majority of organic carbon is produced in the epipelagic zone, with a small portion transported deeper into the ocean interior. This process, known as the

biological pump The biological pump (or ocean carbon biological pump or marine biological carbon pump) is the ocean's biologically driven Carbon sequestration, sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere and land runoff to the ocean interior and seafloor sedim ...

, plays a large role in the sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere into the ocean. Organic carbon is primarily exported to the bathypelagic zone in the form of particulate organic carbon (POC) and

dissolved organic carbon Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is the fraction of organic carbon Operational definition, operationally defined as that which can pass through a filter with a pore size typically between 0.22 and 0.7 micrometre, micrometers. The fraction remain ...

(DOC). POC is the largest component of organic carbon delivered to the bathypelagic zone; it primarily takes the form of fecal pellets and dead organisms that sink out of the surface waters and fall toward the ocean floor. Regions with higher primary productivity where particles are able to sink quickly, such as equatorial upwelling zones and the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

, have the greatest amount of POC delivery to the bathypelagic zone. The vertical mixing of DOC-rich surface waters is also a process that delivers carbon to the bathypelagic zone, however, it constitutes a substantially smaller portion of overall transport than POC delivery. DOC transport occurs most readily in regions with high rates of ventilation or ocean turnover, such as the interior of gyres or deep water formation sites along the

thermohaline circulation Thermohaline circulation (THC) is a part of the large-scale Ocean current, ocean circulation driven by global density gradients formed by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The name ''thermohaline'' is derived from ''wikt:thermo-, thermo-'', r ...

Calcium carbonate dissolution

The region in the water column at which calcite dissolution begins to occur rapidly, known as the lysocline, is typically located near the base bathypelagic zone at approximately 3,500 m depth, but varies among ocean basins. The lysocline lies below the saturation depth (the transition to undersaturated conditions with respect to

) and above the

carbonate compensation depth The carbonate compensation depth (CCD) is the depth, in the oceans, at which the rate of supply of calcium carbonates matches the rate of solvation. That is, solvation 'compensates' supply. Below the CCD solvation is faster, so that carbonate pa ...

(below which there is no calcium carbonate preservation). In a supersaturated environment, the

tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

of calcite-forming organisms are preserved as they sink toward the sea floor, resulting in sediments with relatively high amounts of CaCO₃. However, as depth and pressure increase and temperature decreases, the solubility of calcium carbonate also increases, which results in more dissolution and less net transport to the deeper, underlying seafloor. As a result of this rapid change in dissolution rates, sediments in the bathypelagic region vary widely in CaCO₃ content and burial.

Ecology

The ecology of the bathypelagic ecosystem is constrained by its lack of sunlight and

primary producers An autotroph is an organism that can convert abiotic sources of energy into energy stored in organic compounds, which can be used by other organisms. Autotrophs produce complex organic compounds (such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) us ...

, with limited production of microbial biomass via autotrophy. The trophic networks in this region rely on particulate organic matter (POM) that sinks from the

and

water, and oxygen inputs from the

. Despite these limitations, this open-ocean ecosystem is home to microbial organisms,

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

, and nekton.

Microbial ecology

A comprehensive understanding of the inputs driving the microbial ecology in the bathypelagic zone is lacking due to limited observational data, but has been improving with advancements in deep-sea technology. A majority of our knowledge of ocean microbial activity comes from studies of the shallower regions of the ocean because it is easier to access, and it was previously assumed that deeper water did not have suitable physical conditions for diverse microbial communities. The bathypelagic zone receives inputs of organic material and POM from the surface ocean on the order of 1-3.6 Pg C/year.

Prokaryote A prokaryote (; less commonly spelled procaryote) is a unicellular organism, single-celled organism whose cell (biology), cell lacks a cell nucleus, nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. The word ''prokaryote'' comes from the Ancient Gree ...

biomass in the bathypelagic is dependent and thus correlated with the amount of sinking POM and organic carbon availability. These essential organic carbon inputs for microbes typically decrease with depth as they are utilized while sinking to the bathypelagic. Microbial production varies over six orders of magnitude based on resource availability in a given area. Prokaryote abundance can range from 0.03-2.3x105 cells ml⁻¹, and have population turnover times that can range from 0.1–30 years.

Archaea Archaea ( ) is a Domain (biology), domain of organisms. Traditionally, Archaea only included its Prokaryote, prokaryotic members, but this has since been found to be paraphyletic, as eukaryotes are known to have evolved from archaea. Even thou ...

make up a larger portion of the total prokaryote cell abundance, and different groups have different growth needs, with some archaea groups for example utilizing amino acid groups more readily than others. Some archaea like Crenarchaeota have Crenarchaeota 16S rRNA and archaeal amoA gene abundances correlated to dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) fixation. The utilization of DIC is thought to be fueled by the oxidation of

ammonium Ammonium is a modified form of ammonia that has an extra hydrogen atom. It is a positively charged (cationic) polyatomic ion, molecular ion with the chemical formula or . It is formed by the protonation, addition of a proton (a hydrogen nucleu ...

and is one form of chemoautotrophy. Based on regional variation and differences in prokaryote abundance,

heterotroph A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...

ic prokaryote production, and particulate organic carbon (POC) inputs to the bathypelagic zone. Research to quantify bacterial-consuming grazers, like

eukaryote The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...

s, has been limited by difficulties in sampling. Oftentimes organisms do not survive being brought to the surface due to experiencing drastic pressure changes in a short amount of time. Work is underway to quantify cell abundance and biomass, but due to poor survival, it is difficult to get accurate counts. In more recent years there has been an effort to categorize the diversity of the eukaryotic assemblages in the bathypelagic zone using methods to assess the genetic compositions of microbial communities based on supergroups, which is a way to classify organisms that have common ancestry. Some important groups of bacterial grazers include

Rhizaria The Rhizaria are a diverse and species-rich clade of mostly unicellular eukaryotes. Except for the Chlorarachniophytes and three species in the genus '' Paulinella'' in the phylum Cercozoa, they are all non-photosynthetic, but many Foraminifera ...

, Alveolata,

Fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

Stramenopile The stramenopiles, also called heterokonts, are protists distinguished by the presence of stiff tripartite external hairs. In most species, the hairs are attached to flagella, in some they are attached to other areas of the cellular surface, an ...

Amoebozoa Amoebozoa is a major Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group containing about 2,400 described species of Amoeba, amoeboid protists, often possessing blunt, fingerlike, Pseudopod#Morphology, lobose pseudopods and tubular mitochondrial cristae. In trad ...

, and Excavata (listed from most to least abundant), with the remaining composition classified as uncertain or other.

Virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

es influence biogeochemical cycling through the role they play in marine food webs. Their overall abundance can be up to two orders of magnitude lower than the mesopelagic zone, however, there is often high viral abundance found around deep-sea

s. The magnitude of their impacts on biological systems is demonstrated by the varying range of viral-to-prokaryote abundance ratios ranging from 1-223, this indicates that there are the same amount or more viruses than prokaryotes.

Fauna

Fish ecology

Despite the lack of light, vision plays a role in life within the bathypelagic with

a trait among both nektonic and

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

ic organisms. In contrast to organisms in the water column,

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

organisms in this region tend to have limited to no

. The bathypelagic zone contains

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

octopuses An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed Mollusca, mollusc of the order (biology), order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, ...

, and many species of fish, including deep-water

anglerfish The anglerfish are ray-finned fish in the order Lophiiformes (). Both the order's common name, common and scientific name comes from the characteristic mode of predation, in which a modified dorsal Fish fin#Ray-fins, fin ray acts as a Aggressiv ...

, gulper eel,

amphipods Amphipoda () is an order (biology), order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 10,700 amphip ...

, and dragonfish. The fish are characterized by weak muscles, soft skin, and slimy bodies. The adaptations of some of the fish that live there include small eyes and transparent skin. However, this zone is difficult for fish to live in since food is scarce; resulting in species evolving slow metabolic rates in order to conserve energy. Occasionally, large sources of organic matter from decaying organisms, such as whale falls, create a brief burst of activity by attracting organisms from different bathypelagic communities.

Diel vertical migration

Some bathypelagic species undergo vertical migration, which differs from the diel vertical migration of mesopelagic species in that it is not driven by sunlight. Instead, the migration of bathypelagic organisms is driven by other factors, most of which remain unknown. Some research suggests the movement of species within the overlying

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the sur ...

region could prompt individual bathypelagic species to migrate, such as ''Sthenoteuthis'' sp., a species of

. In this particular example, ''Sthenoteuthis'' sp. appears to migrate individually over the course of ~4–5 hours towards the surface and then form into groups. While in most regions migration patterns can be driven by

predation Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

, in this particular region, the migration patterns are not believed to result solely from predator-prey relations. Instead, these relations are commensalistic, with the species who remain in the bathypelagic benefitting from the POM mixing caused by the upward movement of another species. In addition, the vertical migrating species' timing bathypelagic appears linked to the lunar cycle. However, the exact indicators causing this timing are still unknown.

Research and exploration

This region is understudied due to a lack of data/observations and difficulty of access (i.e. cost, remote locations, extreme pressure). Historically in oceanography, continental margins were the most sampled and researched due to their relatively easy access. However, more recently locations further offshore and at greater depths, such as ocean ridges and

s, are being increasingly studied due to advances in technology and laboratory methods, as well as collaboration with industry. The first discovery of communities subsisting off of the chemical energy in hydrothermal vents was aboard an expedition in 1977 led by Jack Corliss, an oceanographer from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

. More recent advancements include remotely operated vehicles (ROVs),

autonomous underwater vehicle An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot that travels underwater without requiring continuous input from an operator. AUVs constitute part of a larger group of undersea systems known as unmanned underwater vehicles, a classification tha ...

s (AUVs), and independent gliders and floats.

Specific technologies and research projects

* SERPENT Project * Ocean Twilight Zone (OTZ) Project * DEEP SEARCH Project * DEEPEND Project * AUV Sentry * ROV Jason * Hybrid ROV

Nereus In Greek mythology, Nereus ( ; ) was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia ( the Earth), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus and Doris became the parents of 50 daughters (the Nereids) and a son ( Nerites), with whom Nereus ...

* AUV Autosub Long Range

Climate change

The oceans act as a buffer for

anthropogenic climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...

due to their ability to take up atmospheric CO₂ and absorb heat from the atmosphere. However, the ocean's ability to do so will be negatively affected as atmospheric CO₂ concentrations continue to rise and global temperatures continue to warm. This will lead to changes such as deoxygenation,

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ...

, temperature increase, and

carbon sequestration Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. It plays a crucial role in Climate change mitigation, limiting climate change by reducing the amount of Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, carbon dioxide in the atmosphe ...

decrease, among other physical and chemical alterations. These perturbations may have significant impacts on the organisms that dwell in the bathypelagic region and the properties that deliver organic carbon to the deep sea.

Carbon storage

The bathypelagic zone currently acts as a significant

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

for carbon because of its sheer volume and the century to millennial timescales these waters are isolated from the atmosphere, this ocean zone plays an important role in moderating the effects of anthropogenic climate change. The burial of particulate organic carbon (POC) in the underlying sediments via the biological carbon pump, and the solubility pump of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) into the ocean interior via the thermohaline conveyor are key processes for removing excess atmospheric carbon. However, as atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and global temperatures continue to rise, the efficiency at which the bathypelagic will store and bury the influx of carbon will most likely decrease. While some regions may experience an increase in POC input, such as Arctic regions where increased periods of minimal sea ice coverage will increase the downward flux of carbon from the surface oceans, overall, there will likely be less carbon sequestered to the bathypelagic region.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - Midnight Zone

Oceanography