Newly discovered ocean oxygen source rewrites life origins
12:24 PM EDT, July 24, 2024
Scientists have made an astonishing discovery at the bottom of the ocean. It could significantly impact our understanding of the origins of life. Andrew Sweetman, one of the study's authors and a deep-sea ecologist at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), admitted to discovering an additional source of oxygen on Earth, other than photosynthesis.
The popular belief held for hundreds of years that oxygen is only produced through photosynthesis, a process where organisms generate it using solar energy, is incorrect. The latest research published in the journal "Nature Geoscience" indicates that oxygen is produced in the ocean depths—below a level of 13,123 feet.
According to the latest discovery, oxygen is generated by metallic rocks present at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
Andrew Sweetman's team researched the ocean floor in the so-called Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a large underwater geological formation near Hawaii.
Scientists discovered a new source of oxygen at the very bottom of the ocean
A special research device was dropped into the ocean, which sat on the bottom and conducted automatic experiments. It released cylindrical instruments that enclosed a small section of the seabed along with water, creating a "closed microcosm." It then measured changes in oxygen concentration in the enclosed area.
The instrument clearly indicated that oxygen was being produced in this location. Initially, scientists thought the device was damaged, which is why readings were taken for as long as 10 years.
The process of photosynthesis was immediately ruled out because no sunlight reaches the ocean floor. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is small metallic rocks, one of which generated a voltage of about 1.5 volts.
Scientists explained that such voltage represents about 60 percent of the electrical potential needed for water electrolysis, the process causing it to split into hydrogen and oxygen. Therefore, larger rocks likely have the ability to carry out this process. Researchers suggest they are responsible for producing oxygen on the ocean floor.
I suddenly realized that for eight years I’d been ignoring this potentially amazing new process, 4,000 meters (over 13,000 feet) down on the ocean floor, said Andrew Sweetman.
