A Dead Whale Found 1,288m Deep in the Pacific Revealed Something Strange

A dead whale at the bottom of the ocean sounds like an ending, but in the deep sea it can become the beginning of an entire world. At 1,288 metres down on the Clayoquot Slope off Vancouver Island, scientists studied the skeleton of a blue or fin whale and found that it was still supporting life decades after the animal died.

The strange part is not only that creatures gathered around the carcass. It is how long the ecosystem lasted. New research found that the whale fall’s sulphophilic stage has persisted for at least 21 years and may continue for roughly another decade, challenging earlier expectations that this phase would fade much sooner.