abyssal plain
noun
: any of the great flat sediment-covered areas of ocean floor see continental shelf illustration
Examples of abyssal plain in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The team sampled the seabed of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an abyssal plain between Hawaii and Mexico, to assess the possible impacts of deep-sea mining.
—
Sam Meredith, CNBC, 23 July 2024
Correction: The Clarion-Clipperton Zone is an abyssal plain between Hawaii and Mexico.
—Sam Meredith, CNBC, 23 July 2024
This abyssal plain sprawls over 2.3 million square miles, over half the size of the contiguous U.S., and plunges to depths exceeding 3 miles in some places.
—Kate Golembiewski, Discover Magazine, 12 Dec. 2023
The metallic nodules on the abyssal plains that miners want to hoover up form over millions of years in a remote part of the planet where fine sediment filters down at a rate of about a centimeter every millennium.
—Susan Lahey, Popular Mechanics, 24 July 2023
The abyssal plains are strewn with mineral nodules that coalesce around biotic seeds such as sharks' teeth, accumulating cobalt and other metals integral to lithium-ion batteries.
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 20 June 2023
The abyssal plain is a term used to describe the ocean floor at a water depth of 3,000 to 4,000 meters (around 12,000 feet), which makes up 60% of Earth’s surface, according to Roberts.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 7 Nov. 2022
The team had discovered an undersea volcano, or seamount, on an abyssal plain—a geologically inactive region that shouldn’t have any.
—Akila Raghavan, Science | AAAS, 15 July 2021
Drazen is one of a select few scientists who have explored the abyssal plain ecosystem of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), where the majority of the ISA’s undersea mining contracts are located.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 May 2020
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Sam Meredith, CNBC, 23 July 2024
Correction: The Clarion-Clipperton Zone is an abyssal plain between Hawaii and Mexico.
—Sam Meredith, CNBC, 23 July 2024
This abyssal plain sprawls over 2.3 million square miles, over half the size of the contiguous U.S., and plunges to depths exceeding 3 miles in some places.
—Kate Golembiewski, Discover Magazine, 12 Dec. 2023
The metallic nodules on the abyssal plains that miners want to hoover up form over millions of years in a remote part of the planet where fine sediment filters down at a rate of about a centimeter every millennium.
—Susan Lahey, Popular Mechanics, 24 July 2023
The abyssal plains are strewn with mineral nodules that coalesce around biotic seeds such as sharks' teeth, accumulating cobalt and other metals integral to lithium-ion batteries.
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 20 June 2023
The abyssal plain is a term used to describe the ocean floor at a water depth of 3,000 to 4,000 meters (around 12,000 feet), which makes up 60% of Earth’s surface, according to Roberts.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 7 Nov. 2022
The team had discovered an undersea volcano, or seamount, on an abyssal plain—a geologically inactive region that shouldn’t have any.
—Akila Raghavan, Science | AAAS, 15 July 2021
Drazen is one of a select few scientists who have explored the abyssal plain ecosystem of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), where the majority of the ISA’s undersea mining contracts are located.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 May 2020
Cite this Entry
“Abyssal plain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abyssal%20plain. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share