Abstract
THE ocean may be divided into two great biological regions, viz. the superficial region, including the waters between the surface and a depth of about 100 fathoms, and the deep-sea region extending from the 100 fathoms line down to the greatest depths. The superficial region may be subdivided into two provinces, viz. the shallow-water or neritic province around the land masses where the depth is less than 100 fathoms, and the pelagic province, embracing the superficial waters of the ocean basins outside the 100 fathoms line; these two provinces contrast sharply as regards physical conditions, which are of great variety in the neritic province, and very uniform over wide areas in the pelagic province.
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References
See "Challenger Reports," "A Summary of the Scientific Results," by John Murray, pp. 1430–1436, 1895.
See Murray, "On the Deep and Shallow-Water Marine Fauna of the Kerguelen Region of the Great Southern Ocean," Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin., vol. xxxviii. p. 343, 1896.
Bull. Soc. géol. de France, sér. 2, t. xxv. p. 777, 1868.
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Marine Organisms and the Conditions of their Environment.1. Nature 55, 500–501 (1897). https://doi.org/10.1038/055500a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/055500a0