Welcome to The Euphotic Zone! In this site we will discover all out this zone and its inhabitants. Come and join
in the fun and discover The Euphotic Zone!
On this home page, I'll introduce myself and talk about my reasons for wanting a web site. I might put a picture of myself
on this page...or just a picture that I especially like.
What is the Euphotic Zone?
The uppermost layer of the world's oceans is bathed in sunlight during the daytime. This
bright ocean layer is called the sunlit zone or the euphotic zone (euphotic means "well lit" in Greek) or the
epipelagic zone (epipelagic means "upon the sea"). The depth of this zone depends on the clarity or murkiness of the water.
In clear water, the euphotic zone can be quite deep; in murky water, it can be only 50 feet deep. On average, it extends to
about 660 feet (200 meters); the depth of the ocean averages about 13,000 feet or 4,000 m. The temperature in this zone ranges
from 104 to 27 degrees F.
In this zone, there is enough light for photosynthesis to take place, so many plants and
other photosynthetic organisms live in this zone and food is abundant. Photosynthesis is a process in which sunlight and carbon
dioxide gas are converted into food (chemical energy contained in carbohydrates) and oxygen gas. Photosynthesis in the oceans
creates approximately 90% of the Earth's gaseous oxygen. Most of the oxygen is produced by phytoplankton. These primary producers
(also called autotrophs) are the first link in the food chain in the oceans. Because of this food source, many animals also
live in this zone. In fact, most of the life in the ocean is found in this zone, although it is the smallest ocean zone in
terms of volume of water.