ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Nepheloid layer

Okay kiddo, so imagine you are making chocolate milk. When you pour chocolate powder into the milk, you can see tiny specs floating around.

Similarly, in the ocean, there are tiny particles floating around called "suspended particles". These particles can be sand, dead plants or animals, or even poop from marine animals.

Now, when these particles get mixed up with the seawater, they create a cloudy layer known as the "nepheloid layer". It is made up of these suspended particles and can extend from just a few inches to several feet below the surface of the water!

This layer is very important for the ocean because it helps to distribute nutrients and marine life across the ocean floor. It also affects the amount of sunlight that reaches the deeper parts of the ocean. Scientists study the nepheloid layer to understand how it affects the ocean's ecosystem.