Sperm whales play a critical role in combating climate change purely by defecating massive, nutrient-rich plumes near the surface of the ocean, an elegant process marine biologists call the whale pump.

A closer look

Sperm whales play a critical role in combating climate change purely by defecating massive, nutrient-rich plumes near the surface of the ocean, an elegant process marine biologists call the whale pump. These deep-diving giants consume iron-rich squid in the abyss and then swim to the surface to poop, releasing iron and nitrogen that fertilize gigantic blooms of phytoplankton. These microscopic plants then absorb millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, meaning a whale's bathroom habits do more to fight global warming than your expensive electric car. Humanity is desperately engineering giant carbon-capture machines and debating policy, while nature's solution is just a giant mammal performing tactical bowel movements in the Atlantic. It is an incredibly humbling realization that the survival of our ecosystem heavily relies on the buoyant, fluorescent orange fecal matter of the world's largest toothed predator