marine snow

Noun

marine snow (uncountable)

1. (marine biology) Sinking organic detritus in the ocean.
   • Marine snow contains sufficient energy and nutrients to sustain large numbers of marine organisms in the aphotic zone. Unconsumed marine snow eventually sinks to the bottom where it becomes incorporated into the layer of muddy ooze that forms a thick blanket over much of the seafloor.2022, Michael Kent, The Marine Environment and Biodiversity, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 24
   • As long as there has been marine life, there has been marine snow—a ceaseless drizzle of death and waste sinking from the surface into the depths of the sea. […] Although the term may suggest wintry whites, marine snow is mostly brownish or grayish, comprising mostly dead things.2022 April 3, Sabrina Imbler, “In the ocean, it's snowing microplastics”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2022

   Synonyms:

   ocean dandruff, snow