Discovery of ‘black oxygen’ at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean stuns scientists and could rewrite the origins of life

 

The secret to life on Earth may be deeper than we thought.

Scientists have discovered that metal nodules on the ocean floor produce oxygen in total darkness, without any help from living organisms, in a move that could revolutionize our understanding of the origins of life.

This eye-opening revelation was revealed in a groundbreaking study published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

“I think we need to revisit questions like: where could aerobic life (life that requires oxygen) have started?” said the study’s lead author, Andrew Sweetman, professor of deep-sea ecology at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban, UK, in a statement.

Sweetman and his team discovered the phenomenon, dubbed “black oxygen,” by accident while sampling the seafloor more than 13,000 feet deep in a 1.7 million-square-mile stretch of seafloor between Mexico and Hawaii.

“For aerobic life to arise on the planet, you need oxygen. And we know that the supply of oxygen to Earth began with photosynthetic organisms,” said Andrew Sweetman, author of the study and a deep-sea ecologist. “But we now know that oxygen is produced in the deep sea, where there is no light.” SMARTEX Project/smartexccz.org

Their initial aim was to assess the impacts of mining the aforementioned metal nuggets, including cobalt, nickel and rare earths such as cerium (an essential component of some electronic devices).

However, while scanning the seabed, sensors detected mysterious oxygen emissions coming from the area.

This phenomenon seemed impossible since the area was too deep for light to penetrate and thus promote photosynthesis – the process by which plants and other organisms convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy.

However, the discovery marked the first time scientists had observed oxygen production without the intervention of organisms.

Polymetallic nodules could provide vital oxygen to deep-sea ecosystems. Camille Bridgewater/Northwestern University

Sweetman was so stunned by the discovery that he “at first thought the sensors were faulty.”

“All studies ever done in the deep sea have only observed that oxygen was consumed rather than produced,” said the shocked scientist, who sent the equipment back to the manufacturer for testing but later received confirmation that it was working properly.

“I think we need to revisit questions like: Where could aerobic life (life that requires oxygen) have started?” Sweetman said. NERC Smartex Project

Sweetman determined through subsequent experiments that the metal nodules create this “black oxygen” through a process called seawater electrolysis.

This happens when seawater splits into oxygen and hydrogen near an electrical charge, which in this case is provided by the highly charged metal ovals like an aquatic battery.

“A voltage of 1.5 V is sufficient for the electrolysis of seawater to occur, which is the same voltage as a conventional AA battery,” the authors wrote in the statement. “The team analyzed several nodules and recorded values ​​of up to 0.95 volts on the surface of some of them, which means that significant voltages can occur when the nodules are grouped together.”

In other words, nature is so metallic.

Ultimately, Sweetman believes the discovery could challenge our perception of how life on Earth began about 3.7 billion years ago.

“For aerobic life to arise on the planet, oxygen is needed. And we know that the Earth’s oxygen supply began with photosynthetic organisms,” he said. “But now we know that oxygen is produced in the deep sea, where there is no light.”

The revelation also raises concerns about the potential environmental consequences of harvesting these pieces of metal, which could provide a crucial source of oxygen for these deep-sea habitats.