The Living Mud: How Silt Turns Sunlight Into Life | Part 1 | SLICE EARTH

Along the coast of French Guiana, vast mudflats are built from sediment eroded from the Andes, carried down the Amazon and spread by Atlantic currents. Far from being lifeless, this shifting silt contains water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and silica: the ingredients that allow microscopic algae to transform sunlight into chemical energy. As tides expose the mud, cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates and diatoms race against darkness and burial. Their silica shells channel light toward chloroplasts, while their movements carry them through the sediment in search of energy. At high tide, they return below the surface to replenish their nutrients, producing the carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids that feed the entire mudflat ecosystem. Documentary: Silt, Source of Life Director: Luc Riolon Production: Les Films en Vrac, France Télévisions, Ushuaïa TV, IRD & UICN (2023) #silt #mudflats #frenchguiana #andes #amazon #algae #diatoms #photosynthesis #tides #microscopiclife #ecosystems