neritic pelagic zone biome neritic sea surface microlayer biome 2010-03-15T11:22:09Z ENVO ENVO:01000041 ORCID:0000-0002-4366-3088 The neritic sea surface microlayer (SML) biome comprises the top 1000 micrometers of marine surface waters occurring above a continental shelf. It is the boundary layer where all exchange occurs between the atmosphere and the ocean. The chemical, physical, and biological properties of the SML differ greatly from the sub-surface water just a few centimeters beneath.