Note: For additional descriptors that may be used as classifiers at lower levels of the hierarchy, view the CMECS report.
On this page classifiers are listed more or less in order of importance (frequency of use from upper levels down) in the classification.
* = The classifier value has not been used in the classification so far.
| Classifier |
|
| Value |
Short Description (See glossary for full description) |
| Salinity |
|
| fresh-water influenced |
<=30 psu for at least 2 months of the year |
| fresh -mesohaline |
<=18 psu |
| fresh |
0 psu |
| oligohaline* |
>0-5 psu |
| mesohaline |
5-18 psu |
| polyhaline-hyperhaline |
>18 psu |
| polyhaline* |
18-30 psu |
| marine |
>30 psu for >=10 months per year |
| euhaline |
30-40 psu |
| seawater |
=35 psu (open ocean) |
| hyperhaline |
>40 psu |
| Enclosure |
|
| unenclosed |
|
| semi-enclosed |
25%-50% enclosed |
| partially enclosed |
50%-75% enclosed |
| largely enclosed |
75%-90% enclosed |
| enclosed |
90%-100% enclosed |
| Depth |
|
| <30 m |
|
| 30 m - shelf break |
shelf break is usually 120 - 200 m deep |
| >shelf break |
shelf break is usually 120 - 200 m deep |
| Geoform |
|
| artificial structure |
|
| archipelago |
|
| atoll |
|
| atoll lagoon |
interior lagoon of an atoll |
| bank |
|
| boundary layer |
|
| canyon |
|
| chenier |
|
| coral reef |
|
| current |
|
| delta |
|
| deposit |
|
| eddy |
|
| embayment |
|
| fissure |
|
| flat |
|
| gyre |
|
| hydrothermal vent |
|
| iceberg |
|
| icepack |
|
| island |
|
| lagoon |
|
| lake |
|
| lens |
|
| mixed layer |
|
| non-coral reef |
|
| peninsula |
|
| pycnocline |
transition zone between upper and bottom layers |
| sea surface |
|
| seabed |
|
| seamount |
|
| seep |
|
| shoal |
|
| shore |
|
| slough |
|
| slump |
|
| subsurface channel |
|
| surface channel |
|
| trench |
|
| unenclosed water body |
|
| vertical front |
|
| waves |
|
| Zone/subzone |
|
| water column |
|
| upper water column* |
above pycnocline |
| bottom water column* |
below pycnocline |
| littoral |
supratidal + intertidal + infratidal subzones |
| supratidal* |
just above high tide line |
| intertidal* |
between extreme low and high tide |
| infratidal* |
just below low tide line |
| bottom |
|
| epibenthic* |
surface of the sea floor |
| subbenthic* |
below the surface of the seafloor |
| Energy Intensity |
|
| no |
no currents or wave action |
| subsurface channel |
|
| yes* |
at least some currents or wave action |
| low |
<2 kn current or gentle swell |
| moderate-high |
<2 kn current or > gentle swell |
| moderate* |
2-4 kn or wind waves |
| high* |
>4 kn current, oceanic swell, or breaking waves |
| Energy Direction |
|
| upward |
|
| downward |
|
| circular |
|
| horizontal |
|
| baroclinic |
along lines of equal pressure |
| shear flow |
|
| seaward |
|
| mixed |
|
| Sediment Load |
|
| no |
|
| yes |
|
| Heterogeneity |
|
| low |
|
| high |
|
| Water Source |
|
| watershed |
|
| estuary |
|
| local estuary exchange |
|
| local ocean exchange |
|
| coastal ocean* |
|
| Temperature |
|
| not hot |
<30° C |
| hot |
>30° C |
| Profile |
|
| no |
0 |
| low-medium* |
<5m |
| low* |
0-2m |
| medium* |
2-5m |
| high |
>5m |
| Slope |
|
| flat |
0-5° |
| sloping |
5-30° |
| steeply sloping* |
30-45° |
| vertical* |
45-90° |
| overhang* |
>90° |
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