Conditions for the existence of life at the deep-sea floor: an update
Tyler, P.A. (1995). Conditions for the existence of life at the deep-sea floor: an update, in: Ansell, A.D. et al. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 33. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, 33: pp. 221-244 In: Ansell, A.D.; Gibson, R.N.; Barnes, M. (Ed.) (1995). Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 33. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, 33. UCL Press: London. ISBN 1-85728-363-5. vi, 665 pp., more In: Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review. Aberdeen University Press/Allen & Unwin: London. ISSN 0078-3218; e-ISSN 2154-9125, more |  |
| Keywords | Animal products > Sponges
Layers > Discontinuity layers > Nepheloid layer
Motion > Water motion > Water currents > Tidal currents
Topographic features > Submarine features > Seamounts
Hexactinellida [WoRMS]; Pheronema carpenteri (Thomson, 1869) [WoRMS]
A, Atlantic [Marine Regions]
Marine/Coastal |
| Abstract | The physical and chemical variables that determine the distribution of deep-sea fauna at the sea bed are re-evaluated from the observations of Menzies 30 years ago. To the unitary variables described by Menzies must be added suspended material, energy availability and current flow. These additional data support the concept that the deep sea is a much more variable environment than was originally predicted. The most profound understanding of deep-sea processes comes from interdisciplinary studies such as the High Energy Benthic Boundary Layer Experiment, and studies in submarine canyons and around seamounts. Although the physical environment determines the large-scale and some small-scale processes, it is the biological modification of highly localized areas that leads to the small-scale spatial heterogeneity that is believed to be responsible for the high species diversity in the deep sea |
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