First Whale Fall Discovered in the South China Sea: One Whale Falls, All Things Are Born

One whale fell, All things are born.Romantic rebirthApril 2nd,The Chinese Academy of Sciences' 'Explorer One' research vessel,Successfully completed the research mission and returned to the dock.What everyone didn't expect was that,During this research expedition, they made a major discovery:A whale fell to death in the South China Sea for the first time.Currently,Natural whale falls discovered internationally,are less than 50.This is the first time that Chinese scientists have discovered it,Its long-term observation value is self-evident!As we all know,After sharks die in the ocean,they slowly drop to the bottom,This lonely and long process,has a name called: 'shark drop.'Besides shark drop,the process of whales falling to the bottom of the sea is also called whale fall.As one of the largest mammals on Earth,the body of a whale,can sustain an ecosystem for a hundred years.One whale fell, all things are born,It's not in vain.However, few people specifically understand,this beautiful and romantic death process.Previously,Researchers at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in the United States,were fortunate to witness the decomposition process of a whale carcass on Davidheiser Ridge.Non-fiction literature just uses this 'case' to,tell everyone about the mysterious and great whale fall.At one whale carcass about 4-5 meters long,researchers were surprised to find,a group of octopuses attached to the skeleton,greedily feeding on the remains.The camera zoomed in,More surprises,Besides the octopuses, there were also many marine organisms around the skeleton.However, this whale skeleton,has been eaten away by many.Finally,Based on the remaining fragments, researchers determined,it was a baleen whale carcass.In our impression,Whales always have mysterious and beautiful colors,They swim freely in the vast ocean.Sometimes they jump from the sea,Their figures are beautiful,as if they were in the sky, touching the clouds.A glance, they are immortal.But even with such poetic life,it will experience death.Whale fall,is the death that people give it a beautiful and romantic name:,'One thought becomes a mountain, one thought becomes the sea,,Whale fall ten miles, all things are reborn.'Whale fall sounds beautiful and romantic,But in reality, it is a rather tragic process.When a whale feels the approach of death,it will quietly find a piece of deep sea,and then wait for the moment of its final arrival.Until its breath is gone,The whale's huge body,begins to fall into the dark sea.At this time, those marine organisms gathered around the whale,devouring the whale's flesh and blood.This process lasted 4-24 months,90% of the whale's body,will be eaten.Every day, every moment,There are many marine organisms,surrounding the whale carcass,devouring its flesh.Until these organisms leave,the second stage: Opportunistic stage begins.20 or so small crustaceans and small marine animals,immediately settled on the whale carcass,greedily eating the soft tissues of the whale carcass.They rely on the remaining whale carcass,to live for 2 years,until the last trace of flesh and blood is devoured.You think it's over here?Actually, the show is just beginning.Until these crustaceans leave,on one whale skeleton,the deep-sea ecosystem begins to play its unique 'charm',The third stage unfolds quietly:Bio-chemosynthesis.Large amounts of flesh-eating worms and anaerobic bacteria,begin to enter the whale bone,decomposing the whale bone's rich lipids,producing hydrogen sulfide, creating a sulfur-rich environment,which provides energy for some bacteria.Such a microcosm of ecological power supply,can maintain more than 100 species of invertebrates,for 50 or even 100 years,until the organic matter in the whale bone is consumed.Finally, into the reef stage,Marine organisms,squeeze all the nutrients from the whale.The whale's final carcass,becomes a reef rock on the seabed.These marine animals,made their home on the reef.This grand and long whale fall,finally came to a complete end.As far as we know,in the deep Pacific Ocean,there are at least 43 species and 13490 individual organisms,relying on whale fall to survive.

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