Definition: An aquatic biome that comprises systems of open-ocean and unprotected coastal habitats, characterized by exposure to wave action, tidal fluctuation, and ocean currents as well as systems that largely resemble these. Water in the marine biome is generally within the salinity range of seawater: 30 to 38 ppt.
Definition: A slope which bridges a continental slope and an abyssal plain, is formed by the accumulation of sediments transported from a continental slope by processes including turbidity currents, and has a gradient less than a continental slope yet greater than a continental shelf.