Whale landing

One whale falls, all things live. Whale fall refers to the process of large whales such as baleen whales and sperm whales sinking into the deep sea and the marine ecosystem they form. This process can be divided into three stages: mobile cleaner stage, opportunist stage, chemoautotrophic stage, and reef stage. In 2020, the manned submersible "Deep Sea Warrior" boarded the scientific research vessel "Exploration 1" and discovered a whale landing at a depth of 1600 meters in the South China Sea, marking the first time a Chinese research team has discovered this type of ecosystem.

The unit is designed for unsupervised public use: controls are recessed or shielded, moving parts are enclosed, and the interface is operable by a child of about six with no instruction. Where a screen is used, the language can be switched without changing the hardware, and the content can be replaced on site.

Whale fall refers to the unique ecosystem formed by the sinking of whale carcasses into the deep sea after death. Chinese researchers first discovered this type of ecosystem in the South China Sea at a depth of 1600 meters during the 2020 TS16 mission using the "Deep Sea Warrior" submersible (carrying the mother ship "Exploration 1"). Its core scientific principle is to rely on the organic matter of the massive whale carcasses to form a complete and staged ecological cycle in the deep sea, which can be divided into four continuous and interconnected stages: 1. In the initial stage, large scavengers such as sharks, blind eels, and crustaceans feed on the soft tissues and blubber in whale fall, and obtain energy through the high heat of blubber. This stage of the large whale body can be sustainable. 4 to 24 months; 2. In the transitional stage, as soft tissues are gradually consumed, invertebrates such as polychaetes and crustaceans appear. They feed on residual organic matter from whale droppings and inhabit whale bones, reproducing and forming temporary ecological groups.