Open Ocean

Open Ocean

Fist of all, in order to understand the open ocean ecosystem we have to know what is the definition of an ecosystem. An ecosystem is a biotical community and all the nonliving factors that affect it, this can be understand as all living and non-living things that interact in an area.

Now, after understanding an ecosystem we can learn what is the ocean, the oceans cover most of the planet, they cover two thirds of the terrestrial surface, 361 millions of Km2, so here we are talking about the most extensive ecosystem in the earth which is called the marine ecosystem. It’s volume is about 1.370 millions of Km3 which represents the 97.6% of the water in our planet.

The open ocean, also called the pelagic zone, is the largest area of the marine ecosystem. It reaches from coasts to the middle of the ocean. The living things that survive in the open ocean need to have a way to float or swim in ocean water. You could also say that is named Open Ocean to the seas that are free, the ones who are in the middle of no-where and they have nothing around them, the only things you can see is; the ecosystem you have below your feet and the sight of the water your eyes reach to see. Its waves are strong and high, the water is coldest, and you can find much more flora and fauna there, extensive types of life, forms of evolution, and adaptations.

In terms of marines, the open ocean starts at a distance out of 200 nautical miles away from each country, after these 200 nautical miles the seas become international, this means they don’t belong to any country they are free as long as you don’t come out around the 200 nautical miles of any-country because you would be on it’s territory.

The area of the open ocean where sunlight shines through the water is called the photic zone, which reaches to a maximum profundity of 200 meters over sea level. Most life in the open ocean is found in the photic zone. Animals, protists, plants, and bacteria that float or drift in ocean water are called plankton. They are moved around the open ocean by surface currents and wind. There is also the aphotic zone, which is dark because it doesn’t receive the sunlight, and it starts after the 200 meter of profundity, this zone has also some divisions, which are the bathyal zone that reaches over the 2 thousand meters under the sea and its affected by the ascending and descending movements of the waterbodies; and the abyssal zone which is deeper and the water stays calm.

In the open ocean there are many types of swimmers including fish, whales, and sharks. Some fish, such as herring and tuna, swim in schools while others swim alone. Some animals have other ways of moving besides swimming.

In the deeper ocean where some fish doesn’t reach the sunlight there are no algae to start food chains so many animals rely on the bodies of dead animals falling from the water above

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