An international team of scientists has discovered that oxygen is produced in complete darkness about 4,000 meters below the surface of the ocean.
Chaluk | Stocks | Getty Images
An international team of scientists has discovered that potato-shaped metallic nodules thousands of feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean are producing oxygen.
The findings were published Monday in natural geosciences The journal goes against the scientific consensus about how oxygen was created and may even force a complete rethink about the origins of complex life on Earth.
In addition to its implications for ocean science, the research raises new concerns about the risks of deep-sea mining.
A team of scientists led by Professor Andrew Sweetman of the Scottish Marine Science Association in the UK discovered that oxygen is produced in complete darkness about 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) below the sea surface.
It was previously thought that only organisms such as plants and algae could use energy to produce Earth’s oxygen through the process of photosynthesis, which requires sunlight.
“In order for aerobic life to begin on Earth, oxygen had to be present, and our understanding is that Earth’s oxygen supply began with photosynthetic organisms,” Sweetman explain.
“But we now know that oxygen is produced in the deep ocean where there is no light. So I think we need to revisit the question: Where did aerobic life begin?”
Important minerals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese can be found in potato-sized nodules at the bottom of the ocean floor.
Pallava Bagla | Corbis News | Getty Images
Researchers discovered “dark oxygen” while conducting ship-based fieldwork in the Pacific Ocean. The team sampled the seafloor in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an abyssal plain between Hawaii and Mexico, to assess the possible impacts of deep-sea mining.
The researchers analyzed multiple nodules and found that many had a “very high” electrical charge, which they said could cause seawater to break down into hydrogen and oxygen through the process of seawater electrolysis.
“We raise a lot of open questions with this discovery, and I think we have a lot to think about in terms of how we mine these nodules, which are essentially batteries in the rock,” Sweetman said.
He added that further research into the production of “dark oxygen” is necessary.
deep sea mining
Research funded in part by Canadian Deep Sea Mining Corporation The Metals Company aims to mine an area in the Clarion-Clapton District by the end of 2025.
The controversial practice of deep-sea mining involves the use of heavy machinery to extract valuable minerals and metals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese from polymetallic nodules on the ocean floor. These minerals have a wide range of end uses, including electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar panels.
Scientists warn that the full environmental impact of deep-sea mining is difficult to predict.
In this handout provided by Greenpeace, Greenpeace activists protest outside the Canary Wharf Hilton Hotel on the opening morning of the annual Deep Sea Mining Summit on April 17, 2024 in London, England.
Handout | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Environmental campaign groups, meanwhile, say the practice is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to ecosystem damage and species extinction.
Sofia Tsenikli, global campaign leader for deep-sea mining, said: “The discovery that processes associated with polymetallic nodules are producing oxygen in areas targeted by deep-sea mining provides further support for the urgent need for a mining moratorium.” Deep Sea Conservation Alliance, a non-governmental environmental organization.
“This study highlights how much we still have to explore and understand about the deep sea and raises more questions about how deep-sea mining affects deep-sea life and processes,” Zenikli said on Monday.
About The Author
