Scientists published a study on Monday in which they claim to have found groundbreaking evidence of the creation of “dark oxygen.”
Professor Andrew Sweetman leads the Seafloor Ecology and Biogeochemistry Research Group at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS). studyThe researchers discovered deep-sea oxygen production (or “dark oxygen”) from metal nodules in the Pacific Ocean, an area where natural light does not reach, SAMS said in a statement. read. (Related article: Ancient crystals reveal secrets of life 4 billion years ago)
“We’ve understood that aerobic life on Earth requires oxygen, and that Earth’s oxygen supply began with photosynthetic organisms. But now we know that oxygen is produced in the lightless depths of the ocean, so I think we need to rethink questions like, where did aerobic life begin?” Sweetman said.
Watch: New Nature’s Choice In a paper published today, deep-sea scientists led by SAMS Professor Andrew Sweetman have discovered a new mechanism for oxygen production.
“Dark oxygen” exists thousands of meters below the ocean surface!
Read the paper: https://t.co/osUMmRjgHn#DarkOxygen pic.twitter.com/qidTG0AjhE
— Scottish Association for Marine Science (@SAMSoceannews) July 22, 2024
In their study, the scientists observed that nodules containing metals such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese on the ocean floor are highly electrically charged, which could be key to this epoch-making process. “Given the high voltage potential (up to 0.95 V) on the surface of the nodules, we hypothesize that seawater electrolysis may contribute to this dark oxygen production,” the scientists wrote. Seawater electrolysis is what separates seawater into hydrogen and oxygen.
This is the first time scientists have been able to observe oxygen production without the involvement of known organisms such as photosynthetic plants, according to Live Science. report.
“When we first got this data, we thought the sensor was faulty, because all previous studies in the deep sea had only looked at oxygen consumption, not production. When we got home, we recalibrated the sensor, but these strange oxygen readings kept popping up, even after 10 years,” Sweetman said. He added that when he employed a “back-up method” and checked the previous readings, he was convinced “we’d stumbled upon something groundbreaking and unexpected.”
“In my opinion, this is one of the most exciting discoveries in recent marine science,” said SAMS Director Professor Nicholas Owens. “The conventional view is that oxygen was first produced around 3 billion years ago by ancient microorganisms called cyanobacteria, and that complex life gradually developed thereafter. The possibility of alternative sources forces us to fundamentally rethink.”
