abyssal

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abyssal Applied to the deepest part of the ocean, below about 2000 m. The abyssal zone lies seaward of, and deeper than, the bathyal zone, and covers approximately 75 per cent of the ocean floor. It is the most extensive Earth environment, cold, dark, with slow-moving currents (less than a few centimetres per second), supporting fauna that are typically black or grey, delicately structured, and not streamlined. Compare neritic.

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