Availability+of+Sunlight

Title: Availibility of sunlight

Explanation of Topic (Definition, Key Points, Details) The photic zone in the ocean is the part where the sunlight penetrates. Photic zone is another name for light zone. The population of plankton, decaying organic particlesin the water, and suspended sediment all effect the clarity of seawater. The quantinty of sunlight the ocean recieves changes, depending on the time of day, the season of the year, the atmospheric conditions, and it also depends on the latitude. The zone that is near the surface and also part of the photic zone and recieves enough light for photosynthesis is the euphratic zone. The euphratic zone can reach a depth of one-hundred meters in the open ocean, but near the shore it will be shallower because water clarity is usually reduced near the shore. phytoplankton are the basis of most oceanic food webs because, in the euphotic zone, they use sunlight to produce food for themselves. Photosynthesis caint occur below one-hundred meters although there is enough light in the low photic zone for predators to be avoided, food to be found, to locate mates, and recognizing their own species. Below this zone is the aphotic zone which recievess no sunlight.

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Interesting Facts or Discoveries: Photo as in "photic" also means light.

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