The Earth's oceans are inherently 3‐D in nature. Many physical, environmental, and biotic processes vary widely across depths. In recent years, human activities, such as oil drilling, mining, and fishing are rapidly expanding into deeper frontier ocean areas, where much of the biodiversity remains unknown. Most current conservation actions, management decisions and policies of both the pelagic and benthic domains do not explicitly incorporate the 3‐D nature of the oceans and are still based on a two‐dimensional approach. Here, we review current advances in marine research and conservation, aiming to advance towards incorporating the third dimension in marine systematic conservation planning. We highlight the importance and potential of vertical conservation planning and zoning from the sea surface to the seafloor. We propose that undertaking marine conservation, management and environmental decisions in 3‐D has the potential to revolutionize marine conservation research, practice and legislation.

中文翻译：

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在海洋保护中增加三维

地球的海洋本质上是3D的。许多物理，环境和生物过程在各个深度之间差异很大。近年来，人类活动（例如石油钻探，采矿和捕鱼）正在迅速扩展到更深的边境海洋地区，在该地区许多生物多样性仍然不为人所知。当前大多数中上层和底栖领域的保护行动，管理决策和政策都没有明确纳入海洋的3D性质，而仍基于二维方法。在这里，我们回顾了海洋研究和保护的最新进展，旨在朝着将第三维度纳入海洋系统保护规划的方向前进。我们强调了从海面到海底的垂直保护规划和分区的重要性和潜力。