What is ‘Dark Oxygen,’ Found 13,000 Feet Under the Sea?

A New Mystery in the Ocean

Scientists have found something amazing deep in the ocean: “dark oxygen.” This discovery is a lot like finding a new kind of dark matter, which scientists believe helps hold galaxies together in space. But dark oxygen is found on the ocean floor, 13,000 feet below the surface, where no sunlight reaches.

How Did They Find Dark Oxygen?

In 2013, Dr. Andrew Sweetman and his team were studying how much oxygen is used by tiny creatures living on the ocean floor in a place called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific Ocean. They sent machines called landers down to the bottom to measure oxygen levels. To their surprise, they found that oxygen levels went up instead of down.

Sweetman thought his equipment was broken, so he had it checked and tried the experiment again and again. Each time, he got the same surprising result. The team realized that the oxygen was coming from special rocks on the seafloor called polymetallic nodules. These nodules act like little batteries and can split seawater into oxygen and hydrogen.

What are Polymetallic Nodules?

Polymetallic nodules are rocks on the seafloor that contain metals like manganese and iron. They look like small, coal-like lumps and cover a large area in the CCZ. Scientists discovered that these nodules can roduce oxygen without sunlight, which is very unusual because, until now, scientists thought that only plants, plankton, and algae could make oxygen through photosynthesis.

Why is This Discovery Important?

This finding is important for many reasons. First, it changes how scientists understand the deep ocean. Before, they thought that oxygen in the deep sea only came from the upper ocean and land. Now, they know there’s another source of oxygen deep underwater.

Second, it raises new questions about how life began on Earth. Scientists used to think that life could only start in places with sunlight, like near the surface of the ocean. But if oxygen can be made deep in the ocean without sunlight, maybe life could start there too. This could even help scientists think about how life might start on other planets.

Protecting the Ocean

This discovery also shows why it’s important to protect the deep ocean. Many people want to mine the ocean floor for metals used in things like electric car batteries and solar panels. But mining could harm the delicate ecosystems that produce dark oxygen. Scientists like Sweetman believe we need to be very careful about where and how we mine so we don’t damage these important areas.

Conclusion

Finding dark oxygen is a huge surprise and shows that there is still so much we don’t know about our planet. It helps us understand more about the deep ocean and the history of life on Earth. Scientists will continue to study this phenomenon to learn more and protect our amazing oceans.

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