deep sea Tank Top

The ocean is very, very deep; light can only penetrate so far below the surface of the ocean. As the light energy travels through the water, the molecules in the water scatter and absorb it. At great depths, light is so scattered that there is nothing left to detect. Only the very top layers of the ocean get enough light to support plants, and most of the truly abundant animal life is crowded into the top 200 meters. This upper region is called the photic zone; almost all of the marine plants and tiny microscopic marine organisms that engage in photosynthesis can thrive only in the photic zone.