Marine Snow

ocean · deep sea · food chain

Constant particle shower. Marine snow is a never-ending rain of dead plankton, algae, and other organic bits falling from the ocean's upper layers down to the deepest parts of the sea.

Energy delivery system. These falling particles carry energy and nutrients from the bright, sunlit surface waters where plants grow down to the pitch-black depths where sunlight never reaches.

Named by an explorer. William Beebe, a famous explorer traveling in a special underwater vessel called a bathysphere, first noticed and named this phenomenon marine snow.

Changes with seasons. The amount of marine snow falling changes throughout the year because ocean currents shift and plants grow more in some seasons than others.

Deep sea feast. Creatures living far below the surface depend on marine snow as their main food source, since no plants grow down there to make their own energy.