GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -At depths of over 10, 000 feet and covering 70% of the ocean floor, abyssal plains are the largest habitat on earth. Sunlight does not penetrate to the sea floor, making these deep, dark ecosystems less productive than those along the continental shelf.

Detailed explanation-2: -The term ‘abyssal plain’ refers to a flat region of the ocean floor, usually at the base of a continental rise, where slope is less than 1:1000. It represents the deepest and flat part of the ocean floor lying between 4000 and 6500 m deep in the U.S. Atlantic Margin.

Detailed explanation-3: -abyssal plain, flat seafloor area at an abyssal depth (3, 000 to 6, 000 m [10, 000 to 20, 000 feet]), generally adjacent to a continent. These submarine surfaces vary in depth only from 10 to 100 cm per kilometre of horizontal distance.