Transcript:
Hundreds of feet deep in the ocean, light fades to black and a vibrant ecosystem comes to life.
This is the ocean’s twilight zone, a cold, dark place that’s home to strange jellyfish and glowing squids as well as plankton and countless fish.
Dorsett: “It’s really an amazing assemblage of animals that have adapted to these low light and cold conditions.”
Chris Dorsett of the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy says these animals help regulate the Earth’s climate by transporting planet-warming carbon deep underwater.
The ocean absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Then tiny phytoplankton near the ocean’s surface take up carbon as they photosynthesize and grow.
Every night, creatures from the twilight zone swim to the surface to eat these phytoplankton and other creatures. Then they take that carbon back down to the deep, where much of it will remain.
But Dorsett says the twilight zone is in trouble as companies grow more interested in deep-sea fishing and mining.
So he says it’s vital that countries enact policies to protect it.
Dorsett: “This area very much needs to be protected before activities begin that could really impact it, and impact those values for society.”
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
