Which zone refers to the open-water environment of the ocean away from the sea floor and coast?

• A. Epipelagic Zone
• B. Pelagic Zone
• C. Neritic Zone
• D. Benthic Zone

Answer: (B)

Pelagic refers to the open-water portion of the ocean, the part of the water column away from the sea floor and away from shore. It includes all the water not attached to the bottom, spanning from the surface down through the water column to deep depths. The term Neritic names the coastal waters over the continental shelf, close to land, which is not the open-ocean environment. The Benthic zone is the ocean floor itself. The Epipelagic zone is the sunlit subpart of the pelagic zone, but the broader open-water environment away from the bottom and coast is the pelagic zone.