A closer look
The deepest parts of the ocean are constantly subjected to a morbid, slow-motion blizzard known as marine snow. This relentless shower consists of dead phytoplankton, microscopic shells, and the fecal matter of surface-dwelling marine life. While it sounds disgusting, this continuous biological rain is arguably the most important carbon sink on the planet. As the snow sinks thousands of meters to the abyssal plain, it physically drags millions of tons of atmospheric carbon down into the dark, trapping it in the seafloor sludge for millennia and actively preventing our planet from boiling over.
