Marine explorers have shared a video of marine snow: organic matter that continuously falls from shallow waters down to the deep sea.
"Marine snow drifts like a quiet symphony through the deep sea, carrying nutrients to sustain life in the ocean’s darkest reaches,” says Mattie Rodrigue, Science Programme Director at OceanX.
“You probably wouldn’t want to make a snow angle in it though or catch flakes on your tongue,” says OceanX in its video. “Most of it is well… poop, and dead plants and animals. But to tiny animals in the deep ocean it is delicious.”
By falling to the seafloor, marine snow provides food for animals in the deep sea where it is too dark for sunlight to reach. The particles that aren’t eaten create a layer on the seafloor that build up gradually over time – at a rate of about six metres every million years, according to OceanX.
“It’s a humbling reminder of the intricate cycles that connect every layer of our blue planet,” says Rodrigue. “Every particle tells a story of life, death and rebirth, sustaining an ecosystem we are just starting to uncover."
Image and video: OceanX
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