You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Maddie Sifai here with Shortwave reporter Emily Kwong.

Hi there.

What kind of science gems have you unearthed for us to date, Kwong?

Have you ever wondered what happens after a whale dies?

Yeah, of course.

I wonder it all the time.

And the internet tells me that they wash up on the shore.

Some do.

But most actually fall, sometimes all the way to the bottom of the ocean floor, whale falls

as they're called, are entire ecosystems onto themselves.

Cool.

Right?

Scientists often stumble across them while exploring the deep sea, sometimes with a submersible,

other times with a remotely operated vehicle they control from the surface.

Yeah, and a few weeks ago, the EV Nautilus, a research vessel under the direction of

Robert Ballard, the guy that discovered the Titanic, that's the one, using one of these

remotely operated vehicles discovered a whale fall, believed to be some kind of baline

whale off the coast of California and live streamed what they saw.

Oh, oh, oh.

You're hearing the collective awe of everyone on the Nautilus.

I'm hearing a bunch of nerds is what I'm hearing, which I like.

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