mesopelagic

adjective

me·​so·​pe·​lag·​ic ˌme-zə-pə-ˈla-jik How to pronounce mesopelagic (audio)
ˌmē-,
-sə-
: of or relating to oceanic depths from about 600 feet to 3000 feet (200 to 1000 meters)

Examples of mesopelagic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Beyond a certain depth, specifically below about 200 meters (656 feet), the ocean enters the mesopelagic zone and extends into the abyssal and hadal zones, reaching depths of over 11,000 meters (36,000 feet). Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Still, as was the case with the defunct mesopelagic fisheries of the USSR, much of the interest is in using mesopelagic fish as food for other animals, like Atlantic salmon. WIRED, 9 Dec. 2023 Norway has run a trial fishery for mesopelagic fish since 2016, and Iceland also experimented with a mesopelagic fishery, particularly in 2009 and 2010. WIRED, 9 Dec. 2023 Sathish, whose research focuses on coastal pollution, had earlier studied and reported the presence of microplastics in clams (Donax cuneatus), mesopelagic fish and beach sediments across coastal areas in Tamil Nadu. Sharmila Vaidyanathan, Quartz, 10 Apr. 2023 In 1980, fisheries scientists estimated the global biomass of mesopelagic fish at a billion metric tons, based on surveys with nets. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2022 In the decades since Johnson’s initial hypothesis, new technologies have made the mesopelagic zone slightly more accessible to scientists. Jack Feerick, Discover Magazine, 28 July 2021 Economy of arm autotomy in the mesopelagic squid Octopoteuthis deletron. Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 1 Aug. 2012 These warm eddies contain a higher density of mesopelagic prey, acoustic surveys have shown. Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mesopelagic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mesopelagic was in 1947

Dictionary Entries Near mesopelagic

Cite this Entry

“Mesopelagic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mesopelagic. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

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