Whale Fall 2D: Succession Cross-Section & Decay Curve

When a whale dies and sinks to the abyssal seafloor, its carcass becomes one of the richest, longest-lived ecosystems in the deep ocean — a "whale fall". This 2D cross-section simulator models the same three real ecological succession stages as the 3D version — discovered by submersible surveys — but lets you drag-pan along the seafloor scene and watch a live scrolling strip chart of the organic-carbon decay curve underneath it. Stage 1 is a fast mobile-scavenger phase where hagfish and sleeper sharks strip soft tissue; stage 2 is a slower enrichment-opportunist phase where worms and crustaceans colonize the nutrient-rich remains; stage 3 is a multi-decade sulfophilic phase where chemosynthetic bacteria and bone-eating Osedax worms live off hydrogen sulfide released from the lipid-rich bones — the same chemical-energy strategy used at hydrothermal vents. Adjust carcass size, scavenger pressure and bacterial activity and watch the carcass, its consumers, the bacterial mats, and the decay curve evolve together in real time.