Continental shelf

This article describes the habitat of the continental shelf. It is one of the sub-
categories within the section dealing with biodiversity of marine habitats and
ecosystems. It gives an overview about the characteristics, processes such as
sedimentation and biota. A short section about legal aspects is also added.

Contents
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1Introduction
2Shelf sedimentation
3Biota
4Legal aspect
5Related articles
6References

Introduction
The continental shelf is a shallow, near horizontal seafloor extension from
the shoreline to the upper continental slope. This shelf forms the shallow margin
of each deep-ocean basin. At the ocean side it is terminated by a pronounced
change in bottom gradient (degree of slope). This is called the shelf break. The
continental shelf is characterized by a very gentle slope less than 1 degree. The
average depth is about 150 m and it has an average width of 70 km. But local
variations are common, ranging from more than 1000 km in the Arctic Ocean to a
few kilometers along the Pacific coast of North and South America. The water above
the continental shelf is called neritic water. Below the shelf break is the continental
slope. This zone is much steeper than the continental shelf. At the base of this steep
slope is the continental rise which finally merges into the deep ocean floor,
the abyssal plain. The continental shelf, slope and rise are part of the continental
margin. This is the transition zone between the continental and the oceanic crust.

Basic composition of the continental margins with sediment (light brown), rocks (middle brown) and the mantle of the earth

[1]
(dark brown)

Generally it is one of the most productive parts of the ocean. Many benthic, coastal
animals have evolved larval stages which swim for a time in the water. These larvae
are also abundant in the neritic water. Although the continental shelf zones comprise
only 7.6% of the surface area of the world oceans, they provide 15-30% of the
oceanic primary production. [2] A special type of ecosystem that can be found on the
continental shelves is the kelp forest. This is one of the more productive
ecosystems on the continental shelf.
Examples of these shelf seas are the Baltic an North Sea, Yellow and East China,
Hudson Bay, Bering Sea,

[3]
The global continental shelf (marked in turquoise)

Shelf sedimentation
Energy for eroding and transporting sediment grains is provided by the tides and
wind-generated waves and currents. In general, waves seem to be the dominant
process affecting the sea bottom. Because the continental shelf is shallow, the
waves have a large impact on the bottom in comparison to the open ocean. Water
becomes increasingly calmer with depth, so the deeper you go, the more your
bottom is unaffected by waves. Breaking waves affect the shoreline and remove and
suspend all the fine sediment into the water. Only medium and coarse sand and
gravel can be deposited on the beach and in the nearshore zone. More seaward the
bottom energy induced by waves decreases with depth. This causes a decreasing
grain size with distance offshore. Sedimentation under different depositional
conditions in the past indicate the past sea level changes and are known as relict
sediments. This shows the importance of sea level fluctuations for the sediment
composition.

The distribution of sediment types of the continental shelf show a regular pattern
that vary with latitude and that depend on climate. At the equator, a broad band of
biogenic sediment extends into the subtropics. These deposits include coral
reefs and accumulations of grain fragments, mainly composed of calcium carbonate
( ) derived from the hard parts of organisms. This band of deposition
material is broader along the western edges of the oceans. The reason for this is
that warm, westerly flowing equatorial currents diverge from the equator and flow to
the poles. At the eastern edges, cold currents flow from the poles to the equator. At
the temperate latitudes, the continental shelves are covered with terrigenous
deposits transported by river outflow. This is especially composed of quartz and
feldspar derived from weathering of granite on land. Poorly sorted glacial deposits
are dumped at the poles by glaciers and ice-rafted debris (IRD).

Biota
The neritic waters contain a rich community of organisms. The number and types of
organisms that can live in and on the continental shelf are mainly determined by the
types and characteristics of the sediments. Sediments contain nutrients such
as nitrogen, phosphorus, silica, calcium that are essential for the organisms.
Nutrients also reach the coastal seas by upwelling. This, together with the large
amount of sunlight, makes the continental shelves a productive area.

Based on the characteristics of the substrate, two benthic communities are

determined: the soft-bottom communities and the hard-bottom communities

The hard-bottom communities are these which occur in areas with strong current
flows. Because of these strong flows, the bottom is composed of coarse
sediments like gravel, rocks and sand. This is not a suitable habitat for burrowing
and interstitial organisms because of the frequently shifting bottom. The flows
carry a large amount of food. This makes it a suitable area for sedentary or
sessile filter-feeders or suspension-feeders. The coarse sediments allow them to
attach themselves. Common organisms in coarse sediments are sponges,
anemones and colonial cnidarians (Hydrozoa). Due to the uneven surfaces of the
substrate, a large number of niches are created. This, together with the bulky
grow of seaweeds, makes the growth of a rich benthic fauna possible.

Hyrdozoa Actinia equine[4]

Sponge Polymastiaboletiformis[5]

Hydrozoa Tabularia indivisa[6]

The soft-bottom communities are these which occur in areas with weak current
flows. The bottom is composed of fine sediments like sand and silt. This is a
suitable habitat for burrowing organisms like polychaete worms, amphipods and
bivalves. Most of these organisms are deposit-feeders, feeding on particles of
organic matter in the sediment. Filter-feeders are not abundant because there is
 less suspended matter in the water and the fine sediments will obstruct the
filtering structures.

Tubeworm Lanice conchilega[7]

Bivalves [8]

Amphipod Onisimus edwardsi[9]

The distribution of the sediment types is not equally along the continental shelf. This
causes an unequal distribution of benthic organisms called patchiness. The food for
the benthic community is detritus, originating from the water above. It consists of
fecal pellets, dead organisms and organic debris. There are several ways to
capture detritus such as tentacles, filter apparatus, scraping and cilia.
The water column or the neritic zone is dominated by plankton. This contains of
plants, animals, bacteria, viruses, eggs and larvae. The most abundant types
of phytoplankton are diatoms and dinoflagellates. They obtain energy
through photosynthesis and need sunlight to produce oxygen and carbohydrates.
This is not a problem in the neritic zone, because it is a shallow zone and light
penetrates deep enough for the phytoplankton to use it. Seasonal changes in water
temperature, salinity and nutrient input creates a regular succession
of phytoplankton species in the temperate and polar seas. The zooplankton is
dominated by copepods, larvae, protozoa, crustaceans and jellyfishes and feeds on
the phytoplankton by grazing. The plankton is not evenly distributed in the water
and forms patches or aggregates in dense clusters.

The nekton in the water are the group of the active swimmers. They can avoid
unfavorable conditions, search actively for food and breeding grounds. Like
the plankton, the nekton is aggregated in schools or clusters. They act like one unit
and all the members are of the same size. The benefit for the species is that they
are protected against predators and reducing the chance they will be
captured.[10] [11]
Legal aspect
In the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), the
definition of the continental shelf is: The continental shelf of a coastal State
comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its
territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer
edge of the continental margin or to the distance of 200 nautical miles from the
baselines from which the breadth of its territorial sea is measured where the outer
edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance.

The coastal State has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting its natural
resources. These natural resources are minerals and other non-living resources of
the seabed and subsoil. The sedentary organisms are also included in the natural
resources. The rights of the State are not applicable to the water and the air above
it. The State can allow and regulate drilling on the continental shelf. [12]

Related articles
Shelf sea exchange with the ocean

References
1. Jump up http://www.onr.navy.mil/Focus/ocean/regions/oceanfloor2.htm
2. Jump up Yool A. Fashman M.J.R. 2001. An examination of the continental
shelf pump in an open ocean general circulation model. Global
Biogeochemical Cycles 15(4):831-844
3. Jump up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_shelf
4. Jump up http://www.marbef.org - Decleer M.
5. Jump up http://www.marbef.org - Emblow C.S.
6. Jump up http://www.marbef.org - Norro A.
7. Jump up http://www.marbef.org - Decleer M.
8. Jump up http://www.marbef.org - Nuyttens F.
9. Jump up http://www.marbef.org - Legezynska J.
10. Jump up Karleskint G. 1998. Introduction to marine biology. Harcourt Brace
College Publishers. p.378
11. Jump up Pinet P.R. 1998.Invitation to Oceanography. Jones and Barlett
Publishers. p. 508
12. Jump
up http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/closin
dx.htm