Entering the new Ocean Planet Pavilion, visitors are greeted with a graphic representation of the Aquarium's new layout and the adventure that lies before them. The world's rivers carry some 400 million tons of organic material to the coastal ocean every year, forming nutrient-rich habitats that support a variety of shoreline marine life. This exhibit replicates these important environments, right down to the sounds of a salt marsh, the crashing breakwater, and even the fog. The habitats appear quite real, especially to the shore birds and other marine life that live here.
Coral polyps are small, soft-bodied animals.
Visitors may view them from a surrounding mezzanine or from below, through 16 expansive windows. The deep ocean is dark and foreboding. But it teems with life. Creatures that die here and do not get eaten sink to the bottom, where they break down and provide nutrient-rich bacteria to feed the animals living in this environment. The Upwelling Zones illustrates a variety of these deep habitats as they are found throughout the world's oceans.