OTZ

The Ocean Twilight Zone (OTZ) project is focused on enhancing basic understanding of the mesopelagic layer and broadly communicating the highest quality scientific knowledge about its ecology, biogeochemical processes, and role in global productivity and climate regulation. The OTZ team of scientists and engineers are studying the zone in a number of complimentary ways, with emphasis on developing and evaluating new technologies needed to overcome sampling challenges. Project foci include characterizing biomass and diversity of life the mesopelagic, filling gaps in knowledge about the life histories and behaviors of animals that live in or migrate into the zone, characterizing food webs and their linkages to the euphotic zone, and reducing uncertainties in the role of mesopelagic processes in carbon cycling and climate regulation.