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The Mysterious Discovery of ‘Dark Oxygen’ on the Ocean Floor
Researchers believe they have discovered oxygen being produced 4,000 meters below the sea surface, and think polymetallic nodules—the sought-after bounty of deep-sea miners—could be the source.
The scientists were assessing changes in oxygen levels inside a benthic chamber, an instrument that collects sediment and seawater to create enclosed samples of the seabed environment. After several laboratory tests, Sweetman says, they found that the nodules act like a geobattery: They generate a small electric current (about 1 volt each) that splits water molecules into their two components, hydrogen and oxygen, in a process called electrolysis. (There is already a petition, signed by more than 800 marine scientists from 44 different countries, that highlights the broader environmental risks of deep sea mining and calls for a pause on its development.)
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