Pelagic zone

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/pelagic-zone

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How deep is Pelagic zone?11 km (6.8 mi)
2. What is the scientific name?Not applicable (a geographic and ecological zone)
3. What is the volume?Approximately 1.33 billion km³ (320 million mi³)
4. How many layers are in the pelagic zone and what are they?It has five layers: the epipelagic (0‑200 m), mesopelagic (200‑1,000 m), bathyal (1,000‑4,000 m), abyssal (4,000‑6,000 m), and hadal (below 6,000 m). Each layer has different light, temperature, and pressure.
5. What kinds of animals live in the pelagic zone?Plankton drift with currents, while nekton such as fish, cephalopods, and marine mammals swim and hunt. They have special adaptations like buoyancy control, fast swimming, and bioluminescence.

Nekton: Aquatic animals capable of swimming actively and independently of currents.
Aphotic Zone: The portion of a lake or ocean where there is little or no sunlight.
Upwelling: The movement of deep, cold, nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface.