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A reworked (some would  say ‘improved’) version of  Clement Clarke Moore’s classic Christmas poem:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the ‘photic zone,
Few creatures were stirring, most plankton were all alone;
The water was mixed, with nutrients galore,
Critters hoping come spring, temperatures would soar.

The copepods were nestled, all snug in their beds,
While visions of algal blooms, danced in their heads;
And a dinoflagellate cyst, near to the PAP (Porcupine Abyssal Plain),
Had just settled down, for a long winter’s nap.

When spring-time arrives, there will be such clatter,
Algae will wake, and once again matter;
The sea will be green, and teeming with life,
Phytoplankton will grow, once photosynthesis ’tis rife.

David Aldridge

Images courtesy of Richard Kirby’s awesome book, Ocean Drifters.