Sentences with phrase «dead plankton»

The phrase "dead plankton" refers to tiny organisms in the ocean that have died. Plankton are like tiny plants and animals that float in the water. When they die, they sink to the bottom, becoming "dead plankton." Full definition
When remnants of dead plankton sink to the sea floor, organic matter from their biomass is buried, as manifested by sediments exceptionally enriched in organic carbon.
These bacteria degrade dead plankton and fish excrement, recycling the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other elements back into the water.
CaCO3 tends to dissolve in the deep ocean, both because of the high pressure and because the waters have been acidified by CO2 from rotting dead plankton.
That muck, researcher Henry Ruhl says, is actually food — a nourishing blend of feces and dead plankton that fall from surface waters.
The organic matter in soils, sediments, and water may come from decomposed land plants, dead plankton (tiny marine animals and plants), or burned wood or fossil fuels, and it offers clues about Earth's past and present environments.
At the same time, this dead plankton can become a source of carbon that is not otherwise readily available to other sea life.
When enough of these carbonate deposits build up, they form carbonate rocks, such as limestone, which are composed of the skeletons of trillions of dead plankton.
Hundreds of meters below the sea floor, bacteria produce methane from the dead plankton.
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