marine snow

British  

noun

1. small particles of organic biogenic marine sediment, including the remains of organisms, faecal matter, and the shells of planktonic oganisms, that slowly drift down to the sea floor

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Example Sentences

And that marine snow becomes food for the creatures of the deep.

From Salon • Feb. 17, 2025

It was hunting for marine snow - “poo, basically” in the words of one researcher.

From BBC • Aug. 9, 2024

Those particles - the marine snow - sink to the ocean floor.

From BBC • Aug. 9, 2024

“It’s not just that marine snow transports plastics or aggregates with plastic,” Luisa Galgani, a researcher at Florida Atlantic University, said.

From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2022

Those bacteria snack on nutrients that float down from the surface—so-called "marine snow."

From Scientific American • Dec. 22, 2014