Discovering marine snow
Dr. Inoue believed that direct observation under the sea was indispensable for research on fishing methods, fishing grounds, and the ecology of marine life, and in 1951 he completed the Kuroshio submersible probe. Dr. Inoue and Dr. SUZUKI Noboru, who were on board the Kuroshio, called it "marine snow" because of the mystery of suspended sediment falling like snow on the quiet seafloor, and it is now used as an official name in oceanography. (Quoted from the website of the School of Fisheries Science)
Thus, although the existence of marine snow has been known for a long time, its true nature was completely unknown. This is because even if one took a sample of seawater that was thought to contain maritime snow and observed the water in a laboratory on board a ship, no marine snow could be seen at all.
When I (OOKI) also illuminated the underwater in total darkness and took pictures with an underwater camera, I found that "light shines on transparent particles and makes them appear white". When the camera lens is illuminated near the lens, only the near side can be seen. When the camera is illuminated at a distance, you can see far away (a few meters away). I think there are a lot of near-transparent particles, which are illuminated by the light.
A video of such a situation was filmed in the Chukchi Sea in the Arctic Continental Shelf region. Please see the following page.