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
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The researchers also revealed that certain deep-sea topographical features, like canyons and ridges, have attracted much more scientific attention than abyssal plains and seamounts.
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Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 May 2025
Nodules provide a habitat to species including sponges, soft corals and sea anemones and the muddy abyssal plains are home to sea cucumbers, starfish, anemones, crustaceans, worms and sponges.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 8 May 2025
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
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Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 May 2025
Nodules provide a habitat to species including sponges, soft corals and sea anemones and the muddy abyssal plains are home to sea cucumbers, starfish, anemones, crustaceans, worms and sponges.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 8 May 2025
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
Cite this Entry
“Abyssal plain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abyssal%20plain. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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