🤯 Did You Know (click to read)
Large marine carcass falls are sometimes called "food falls" in deep-sea ecology.
When a large midwater fish like an oarfish dies, its body sinks toward the deep ocean floor. This descent transfers carbon and nutrients from upper layers to abyssal ecosystems. A single multi-meter carcass represents a concentrated nutrient pulse. Scavengers rapidly converge on such falls, including deep-sea invertebrates and fish. The process contributes to long-term carbon sequestration in ocean sediments. Even rarely seen giants participate in planetary biogeochemical cycles. Death becomes distribution.
💥 Impact (click to read)
Imagine a bus-length body descending through darkness like organic freight. As it falls, it feeds layers of life adapted to sporadic abundance. The scale of a single carcass can sustain communities for extended periods. In regions where food is scarce, such events are ecological windfalls. The vertical journey does not end with life. Gravity completes the cycle.
Carbon transfer through sinking biomass plays a measurable role in regulating atmospheric CO2 over geological timescales. Each large organism acts as a temporary storage unit for surface-derived carbon. When it sinks, some of that carbon may remain locked away for centuries. Giants therefore influence climate processes indirectly. A ribbon in darkness can shape the planet’s chemistry. Scale persists beyond life.
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