"The deep sea is a cold region of immense pressure and intense darkness.
Down there, most creatures subsist on dead and decaying material that falls from the surface, forming "marine snow" — dead plankton, dead animals shells, fecal matter, and other inorganic material.
But every so often, something larger reaches the sea floor. A dead whale.
Whale carcasses — known as "whale falls" — become an energy-rich habitat, drawing a wide variety of organisms from across the deep sea to feast. Whale falls become ecosystems unto themselves.
Diva Amon, a deep-sea biologist and Pew-Bertarelli Ocean Ambassador, as well as the Director and Founder of SpeSeas has studied them up close. Amon likens the arrival of a whale fall to a Thanksgiving buffet."
Madeline K. Sofia, Emily Kwong, Brit Hanson, and Rebecca Ramirez report for NPR November 2, 2020.
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