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Seafloor Oasis

The skeleton of a dead whale was intentionally sunk off the coast of San Diego in order to study how “whale falls”–when whales die at sea and drop to the ocean floor–serve as oases of life for other creatures. To date, more than 20 such whale-fall ecosystems have been found. The images for this photomosaic were taken by cameras on the submersible Alvin. (Photomosaic courtesy of Hanumant Singh, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)