<descriptor thcode="62"><thesaurus thcode="62" name="Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard" scope="Categories of ecosystems for coastal, estuarine, and marine environments." creator="FGDC" rights="public domain" date="2017-05-10" codetype="alpha" prefix="cmecs" uri="https://www2.usgs.gov/science/CMECS" tblname="cmecs" root_code="root" contact="pschweitzer"><category><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/></category><altlabel><altlabel>CMECS</altlabel><altlabel>CMECS</altlabel><altlabel>Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)</altlabel><altlabel>Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)</altlabel></altlabel></thesaurus><term thcode="62" code="GC-213" name="Whale Fall" parent="GC-184" scope="Geoform: Whale carcasses that have fallen to the deep ocean floor (generally 2,000 meters or deeper), and which support a wide variety of arthropods and worms?and a limited number of fish. Whale falls can persist for decades (see Figure 6.9)."/><bt><term thcode="62" code="GC-184" name="Biogenic" parent="GC-C052" scope="Geoform Origin: Biogenic geoforms are physical features and landforms that were created by the action of living organisms (bioherms). ..."/><term thcode="62" code="GC-C052" name="Geoform (levels 1 and 2 subcomponents)" parent="GC-C005"/><term thcode="62" code="GC-C005" name="Geoform" parent="root"/><term thcode="62" code="root" name="CMECS" scope="Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard: Category terms encompassing waters from the head of tide or inland incursion of ocean salinity to the splash zone of the coasts to the deepest portions of the oceans and the deep waters of the Great Lakes."/></bt></descriptor>