By Joelle Habib (Laboratoire d’Océanographie Villefranche)
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a photographer. I still do, actually. But somewhere along the way, science intervened, and it gave me something I never expected: the chance to be an underwater photographer. Not the National Geographic kind who chases polar bears or waits weeks for a penguin to do something interesting. My subjects are smaller. Much, much smaller. I get to photograph the invisible life of the deep ocean, the tiny animals and sinking particles that most people never know exist. And the camera I use to do it descends to 6000 meters below the surface.
This instrument is called the UVP, or Underwater Vision Profiler. On this cruise, we deployed a UVP6 attached to the CTD rosette, profiling down to 4000 meters depth. The instrument activates automatically once its pressure sensor detects it is moving downward, takes up to 20 pictures per second all the way to the bottom of the cast. But before we talk about what the UVP gives us and why it matters, we need to talk about what it actually photographs: zooplankton and particles.
If you have ever watched SpongeBob SquarePants, you already know a zooplankton. Sheldon J. Plankton, the tiny villain who is perpetually trying to steal the Krabby Patty formula, is one. And funnily enough, the most abundant zooplankton across all the world’s oceans, is indeed this small crustacean: the copepod.
Here is the basic idea: a plankton is any organism that drifts with the ocean currents rather than swimming against them. If it photosynthesizes like a plant and contains chlorophyll pigments, it is a phytoplankton. If it is an animal, it is a zooplankton. A jellyfish is a zooplankton, just a very large one. Zooplankton graze on phytoplankton, on each other, and on anything small enough to eat. Now for the process that connects all of this to climate, to carbon, and to why we are out here on a research vessel in the middle of the equatorial Atlantic: the biological pump.
The biological pump is the ocean’s mechanism for pulling carbon out of the atmosphere and locking it away in the deep sea. Here is how it works: phytoplankton at the surface absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere and convert it into organic matter through photosynthesis. When they die, or when zooplankton eat them, defecate, excrete, and die themselves, all of that organic carbon does not simply disappear. It becomes marine snow! Yes, it snows in the ocean!!! Marine snow consists of a continuous rain of particles, aggregates, fecal pellets, shed exoskeletons, … Every flake of marine snow is a fragment of life that once existed at the surface, now on a one-way journey into the deep. This is the gravitational pump, one of the most important carbon sinks on Earth, and it is one of the pumps that the UVP was built to observe.
Marine snow seen by PELAGIOS (Pelagic In situ Observation System) in the Tropical Atlantic; 23°W; 100 m depth. Photo Credit: Henk-Jan Hoving
So why image and count particles rather than simply collecting water samples or relying on sediment traps? Because the abundance and size distribution of marine particles are two of the major factors controlling biological carbon sequestration in the ocean, and traditional methods cannot capture them at high resolution throughout the water column. Vertical profiles of particle images can reveal the processes that determine particle size, type, and distribution, and combined with information on carbon content and sinking velocity, they provide high-resolution information on how the biological pump operates at depth. The UVP allows for the remote collection of large datasets on particle abundances and their size distributions, enabling much higher spatial and temporal resolution than traditional methods. But particles are only one part of the story, the UVP also tracks zooplankton and their daily migrations: every night, zooplankton rise from the deep to feed near the surface, then sink back down before dawn, actively carrying carbon into the deep ocean in their own bodies. Without imaging tools like the UVP, this active carbon flux is nearly impossible to quantify.
Each image you see here was taken in complete darkness, somewhere between the ocean surface and 4000 meters below. The UVP6 illuminates a tiny volume of water, with a single red flashing light, capturing only the particles and organisms that happen to drift through that small window at that exact moment.
The instrument captures everything larger than 100 micrometers, roughly the width of a human hair. In the images you will see two types of things: fuzzy, irregular blobs of varying sizes: Marine snow aggregates. And more defined, structured shapes, sometimes with appendages, antennae, or transparent shells. Those are the zooplankton.
Every image is a small portrait of a world that already existed long before we had the tools to see it. I am so lucky I am able to see parts of that hidden life in this lifetime.
This fall, Ocean Conservancy is celebrating its 41st annual International Coastal Cleanup® (ICC), once again bringing together volunteers to protect the beaches and waterways we all love. Ocean Conservancy recently hosted flagship events in Long Beach and Washington, D.C. that celebrated this global movement close to home.
Over the past four decades, nearly 20 million volunteers have rolled up their sleeves to remove more than 405 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways around the world. And their impact extends far beyond what they collect. ICC volunteers have documented nearly 440 million individual items, creating the world’s largest marine debris database and providing invaluable information that helps Ocean Conservancy and others better understand—and tackle—ocean plastic pollution.
This year’s celebration continued that incredible legacy. At Alamitos Beach in Southern California, more than 150 volunteers gathered on September 19 and removed 1,109 pounds of trash, alongside members of Team USA Artistic Swimming and Olympic and Paralympic athletes. In Washington, D.C., 439 volunteers gathered on September 26 to remove 2,182 pounds of trash from Anacostia Park along the Anacostia River.
“I am so grateful to all of the volunteers who came out today for our ocean—and every volunteer who has made the last 41 years of impact possible,” said Ocean Conservancy’s Senior Director of Conservation Cleanups, Allison Schutes. “Every piece of plastic collected helps protect marine animals and habitats and contributes to research and advocacy.”
And the impact doesn’t stop when the cleanup ends. During International Coastal Cleanup events, volunteers do more than remove trash: They document what they find, helping build a clearer picture of the plastic pollution threatening our waterways and wildlife. Through the Clean Swell® app or paper data sheets, ICC volunteers contribute to Ocean Conservancy’s online, open-access database, the world’s largest repository of marine debris data. These records help scientists, conservation groups and governments understand pollution trends and identify solutions.
That data can also drive meaningful policy change. ICC data were recently used in a peer-reviewed study showing that plastic bag bans lead to reduced plastic bag pollution. The data have also helped advance policies ranging from California’s SB 54 to Florida’s balloon release ban and the federal Farewell to Foam Act. From a neighborhood cleanup to statewide action, every piece of documented trash helps build the evidence needed to tackle plastic pollution at its source.
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Want to get involved?
Whether you join a local cleanup, record the trash you find using the Clean Swell app, or take action to reduce plastic pollution, you can be part of this incredible collective effort to protect our ocean. Here are a few ways to make an impact:
- Find a cleanup near you.
- Download our Clean Swell app to easily record the trash you collect.
- Take action to reduce plastic pollution.
- Explore our Wildlife Impact Calculator to estimate the potential benefits of your cleanup for marine wildlife.
- Donate today to Ocean Conservancy to help us fight plastic pollution for years to come!
The post Celebrating 41 Years of the International Coastal Cleanup® appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
For generations, stories of people being swallowed by enormous sea creatures have painted awe-inspiring tales of human survival and perseverance. From the biblical account of Jonah to the legendary battle of Hercules and Cetus to the timeless story of Pinocchio, these legendary tales have captivated people since time immemorial.
But all these stories raise the question: Could someone really be swallowed by a whale? With the premiere of the film Whalefall on October 16, 2026, you may find yourself in conversations about this very situation. Based on the bestselling 2023 thriller authored by Daniel Kraus, the film tells the story of a scuba diver who is accidentally gobbled up by a sperm whale while searching for the remains of his late father. With only an hour of oxygen left in his tank, the diver must fight to escape the whale’s gut before time runs out.
The answer to whether it’s anatomically possible for a whale to swallow a person is actually a bit more complicated than you might think.
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