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Concept
Neritic zone
Summary
The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth.
From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated environment for marine life, from plankton up to large fish and corals, while physical oceanography sees it as where the oceanic system interacts with the coast.
In marine biology, the neritic zone, also called coastal waters, the coastal ocean or the sublittoral zone, refers to that zone of the ocean where sunlight reaches the ocean floor, that is, where the water is never so deep as to take it out of the photic zone.
It extends from the low tide mark to the edge of the continental shelf, with a relatively shallow depth extending to about 200 meters (660 feet).
Above the neritic zone lie the intertidal (or eulittoral) and supralittoral zones; below it the continental slope begins, descending from the continental shelf to the abyssal plain and the pelagic zone.
Within the neritic, marine biologists also identify the following:
The infralittoral zone is the algal-dominated zone down to around five metres below the low water mark.
The circalittoral zone is the region beyond the infralittoral, which is dominated by sessile animals such as oysters.
The subtidal zone is the region of the neritic zone which is below the intertidal zone, therefore never exposed to the atmosphere.
The neritic zone is covered with generally well-oxygenated water, receives plenty of sunlight, is relatively stable temperature, has low water pressure and stable salinity levels, making it highly suitable for photosynthetic life.
There are several different areas or zones in the ocean. The area along the bottom of any body of water from the shore to the deepest abyss is called the benthic zone. It is where decomposed organic debris (also known as ocean 'snow') has settled to form a sediment layer. All photosynthetic life needs light to grow and how far out into the ocean light can still penetrate through the water column to the floor or benthic zone is what defines the neritic zone.
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