SUPERFLEX | New York Times
“A Danish arts collective spotlights the bizarrely beautiful siphonophore, which performs a vital role in removing carbon from the atmosphere.”
By Arthur Lubow
Published Sept. 14, 2021Updated Sept. 16, 2021
A little-known but crucial agent of carbon removal from the atmosphere — the siphonophore, which lives in what’s known as the twilight zone of the sea — will be highlighted during U.N. Climate Week in a video projection from a Danish arts collective.
The siphonophore is a bizarrely beautiful creature. Like a coral reef, it is composed of individual parts, known as zooids, which perform specialized functions. “Some are digesters, some are swimmers, some are reproducers,” Heidi Sosik, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said. “But they all get together. It is an interesting metaphor for humanity to think about.”
Next week, Sept. 21-24, in a light projection more than 500 feet high on the entire northern facade of the U.N. Secretariat building, a siphonophore will perform a sinuous, pulsating dance nightly between 8 and 11 p.m. Coinciding with the meeting of international delegates, who will discuss how to counter human-caused climate change, the video, “Vertical Migration,” is intended to draw attention to the animal’s deep sea carbon removal system.