Nepheloid Layer

A nepheloid layer is a stratum of water carrying elevated concentrations of fine suspended sediment, detected by light scattering (nephelometry) as reduced beam transmission. The bottom nepheloid layer, tens to hundreds of meters thick over the continental slope, abyssal plain, and beneath energetic boundary currents, is maintained by resuspension from near-bottom turbulence, internal-tide breaking, and benthic storms. An intermediate nepheloid layer can detach from the slope along isopycnals and spread laterally into the interior. These layers are a primary pathway for offshore transport of particulate organic carbon and lithogenic material to the deep sea.