The dead and decaying organic matter derived from plants and animals that drifts and falls through the open ocean.

Organic particles that fall into the deep sea from the sunlit surface waters.

aggegrations of detritus, visible to the naked eye, that consist of dead organisms, discarded feeding structures, fecal pellets, and other organic debris

microscopic remains of organisms that slowly sink towards the ocean floor, including the shells of diatoms, radiolarian, and foraminifera.

The remains of plants and animals that drift down from the sunlit surface waters of the ocean to the depths. Marine snow is the base of most deep-sea food chains.

Particles, including dead organic matter, sinking in the ocean

Fragile organic aggregates resulting from the collision of dissolved organic molecules or from the degradation of gelatinous substances such as larvacean houses; usually enriched with microoraganisms.

In the deep ocean, marine snow is a continuous shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper layers of the water column. Its origin lies in activities within the productive photic zone.