OOZE

(n.) A soft deposit covering large areas of the ocean bottom, composed largely or mainly of the shells or other hard parts of minute organisms, as Foraminifera, Radiolaria, and diatoms. The radiolarian ooze occurring in many places in very deep water is composed mainly of the siliceous skeletons of radiolarians, calcareous matter being dissolved by the lage percentage of carbon dioxide in the water at these depths.