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Marine Snow: An Odd Phenomenon Created By Marine Life

What We Can't Sea

Deep in the ocean, something strange is happening. Marine life is creating a phenomenon called marine snow. This strange process plays an important role in the ocean ecosystem. Listen to this episode to learn more.

Did you know that it snows in the ocean? There are particles that sink in the ocean that look just like the snow that falls from the sky. Termed ‘Marine Snow,’ these ocean particles are composed of poop, dead and decaying animals, and other tiny pieces of organic matter. Marine snow has important implications for climate change because marine snow is primarily composed of carbon. When it sinks, or is exported, to the deep ocean, these carbon particles can remain sequestered away from the atmosphere, and not be respired as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, for hundreds to thousands of years.

Marine Snow: An Odd Phenomenon Created By Marine Life

Marine Snow: An Odd Phenomenon Created By Marine Life

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