As you descend into the ocean, you move through different environments, or zones. In the top 200 meters, sunlight is able to penetrate the water. This top layer (or zone) is called the "open ocean" or, commonly, the "photic zone". The next 800 meters is called the "twilight zone": there is very little light. When you reach 1,000 meters below the surface of the ocean, there is no light at all. You have reached the "deep ocean." The extreme pressures in this zone could crush a car, and the temperature stays near freezing. Yet, despite these harsh conditions, there is life that survives in the deep ocean. Rich communities of microbes generate their own energy without sunlight through a process called chemosynthesis, and other animals eat them to survive. As much of the deep ocean remains unexplored, scientists have an exciting opportunity to discover and document new, unusual species that thrive under such conditions.