Physical
SunlightThe primary importance of sunlight is photosynthesis. Because sunlight reaches all areas of the sub-littoral zone, plant and animal life can flourish. The sub-littoral zone hosts the majority of all marine life.
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Depth
The sub-littoral range goes from the ocean surface down to 200 meters deep. Because it is shallow enough for sunlight to reach the bottom, all areas of this zone are capable of photosynthesis.
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PressureThe sub-littoral zone has a low water pressure due to being so close to the surface. The pressure is not extreme making it easy to inhabit for fish and plants.
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TemperatureThe metabolic rate of organisms increases with the temperature of their bodies. The temperature of the sublittoral zone varies depending mainly on the latitude. The waters get warmer during the summer, colder during the winter, but temperatures stay relatively stable.
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Currents The currents effect how fish migrate to different places in the ocean. The sublittoral zone has significant tidal flows and energy dissipation, including non-linear flows, internal waves, river outflows and ocean fronts.
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Chemical
Silinity
The sub-littoral zone has 33 - 38ppt of salinity. The greatest variation of ocean salinity is at the surface because of evaporation meaning the sublittoral zone has a greater variable salinity than deeper ocean zones. Salinity effects the tisue of organisms through osmosis.
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Dissolved Gases
Gases dissolve more in cold water than in warm water. Carbon Dioxide and oxygen are the two most important gases to marine organisms. Oxygen is essential for respiration and Carbon Dioxide is necessary for photosynthesis. The sub-littoral region has an abundance of both of these gases mainly because of its relation to the surface.
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Minerals
These minerals are essential for life in the sub-littoral zone nitrogen, phosphorus calcium and silicon. These elements are also important to life iron, copper, magnesium and zinc. Because the sub-littoral zone is close to crust it carries many nutrients that makes it easier to maintain life.
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Geological
The benthic zones, or shallow ocean floor, in the sublittoral zone, may be sand, rock, or mud and it is usually similar to that of the adjacent exposed portion of the continent.
The continental shelf is the floor of the sublittoral zone and it mainly has a gently rolling topography called ridge and swale.