Ocean STEMulation: Whale Falls | One World One Ocean

Ocean STEMulation: Whale Falls | One World One Ocean
By Sarah Bedolfe,
March 22 2013

This year, for the very first time, scientists documented a whale fall in Antarctic waters, almost a mile below the surface. The skeletal remains of this southern Minke whale have been the source for the discovery of at least nine new species. This discovery is also providing insight into ocean processes such as larval dispersal between remote habitats and ocean nutrient cycling.

What is a whale fall? After a whale dies, its body may float away and wash up onshore somewhere. But other times, the carcass falls to the seafloor and sparks an oasis for life with the energy it delivers.