Conceptual column of water from the surface to the bottom of a body of water
This article is about the division of different water depths in the ocean. For the railroad device, see water crane. For the unit of measurement, see Inch of water. For the pressurisation device, see water tower.
It has been suggested that this article be merged into Ocean stratification. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2023.
Deep sea water column
The (oceanic) water column is a concept used in oceanography to describe the physical (temperature, salinity, light penetration) and chemical (pH, dissolved oxygen, nutrient salts) characteristics of seawater at different depths for a defined geographical point. Generally, vertical profiles are made of temperature, salinity, chemical parameters at a defined point along the water column.[1] The water column is the largest, yet one of the most under-explored, habitats on the planet; it is explored to better understand the ocean as a whole, including the huge biomass that lives there and its importance to the global carbon and other biogeochemical cycles.[2] Studying the water column also provides understanding on the links between living organisms and environmental parameters, large-scale water circulation and the transfer of matter between water masses. or mixing of thermal or chemically stratified layers in a lake, stream or ocean. Some of the common parameters analyzed in the water column are pH, turbidity, temperature, hydrostatic pressure, salinity, total dissolved solids, various pesticides, pathogens and a wide variety of chemicals and biota.
Descriptively, the deep sea water column is divided into five parts—pelagic zones (from Greek πέλαγος (pélagos), 'open sea')—from the surface to below the floor.
The term water column is also commonly used in scuba diving to describe the vertical space through which divers ascend and descend.
^"The water column". Geo-Ocean. Archived from the original on 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
^"Why do we explore the water column?: Exploration Facts: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research". oceanexplorer.noaa.gov. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
The (oceanic) watercolumn is a concept used in oceanography to describe the physical (temperature, salinity, light penetration) and chemical (pH, dissolved...
organs. The largest possible design of a water engine is the directly acting water-column engine or watercolumn machine (German: Wassersäulenmaschine)...
Oscillating watercolumns (OWCs) are a type of wave energy converter that harness energy from the oscillation of the seawater inside a chamber or hollow...
Inches of water is a non-SI unit for pressure. It is also given as inches of water gauge (iwg or in.w.g.), inches watercolumn (inch wc, in. WC, " wc,...
head of water. A centimetre of water is a unit of pressure. It may be defined as the pressure exerted by a column of water of 1 cm in height at 4 °C (temperature...
The pelagic zone consists of the watercolumn of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word pelagic is derived from Ancient...
Precipitable water is the depth of water in a column of the atmosphere, if all the water in that column were precipitated as rain. As a depth, the precipitable...
chemical, and biological processes that supply nutrients into the upper watercolumn. The photic zone is home to the majority of aquatic life due to the activity...
Studying eDNA in the watercolumn can indicate the community composition of a body of water. Before eDNA, the main ways to study open water diversity was to...
rigid column theory: F = m a = P A = ρ L A d v d t . {\displaystyle F=ma=PA=\rho LA{dv \over dt}.} Assuming constant deceleration of the watercolumn (dv/dt...
level than the peak of Mount Everest. At the bottom of the trench, the watercolumn above exerts a pressure of 1,086 bar (15,750 psi), more than 1,071 times...
part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the watercolumn near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The...
which play an important role in remineralising organic material down the watercolumn (note that prokaryotic phytoplankton are also bacterioplankton). Virioplankton...
circulation and oxygenating is then limited to the uppermost portion of the watercolumn, often leaving the bottom portions unaffected. Low speed surface aerators...
such as squid. Cookiecutter sharks have adaptations for hovering in the watercolumn, and likely rely on stealth and subterfuge to capture more active prey...
than public water towers. As building height increases, the vertical height of its plumbing also increases. This produces a large watercolumn and the weight...
house in Royan, France. It appears that this was the first oscillating water-column type of wave-energy device. From 1855 to 1973 there were 340 patents...
sometimes called marine snow, sinks in the watercolumn or is transported within downward convected water masses such as the Thermohaline Circulation...
shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper layers of the watercolumn. It is a significant means of exporting energy from the light-rich photic...
conditions. The pelagic zone is the open ocean's watercolumn from the surface to the ocean floor. The watercolumn is further divided into zones based on depth...
surface of the water. Some still-water plants can alter their position in the watercolumn at different seasons. One notable example is Water soldier which...
the surface, it may also be scattered by particles suspended in the watercolumn. This scattering decreases the total amount of light as depth increases...
the watercolumn due to buoyancy, forming a hydrothermal plume; therefore, the phase during which hydrothermal plumes rise through the watercolumn is...
abyssal depths. Many organisms adapted to deep-water pressure cannot survive in the upper parts of the watercolumn. The pressure difference can be very significant...
seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the watercolumn and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats...
is also called a water column in the United States and Australia. As a steam locomotive consumes large quantities of water, water cranes were a vital part...
garouaensis)) are restricted to fresh water. Most myliobatoids are demersal (inhabiting the next-to-lowest zone in the watercolumn), but some, such as the pelagic...
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