Researchers have discovered a remarkable phenomenon in the depths of the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Mexico: a source of oxygen and electricity dubbed “black oxygen.” This discovery has the potential to reshape our understanding of the origin of life.Researchers have discovered a remarkable phenomenon in the depths of the Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Mexico: a source of oxygen and electricity dubbed “black oxygen.” This discovery has the potential to reshape our understanding of the origin of life. “Black oxygen” is not produced by living organisms but rather through a photosynthesis-like process that occurs within polymetallic nodules, tiny rocks found more than 4,000 meters below the ocean’s surface. These nodules produce oxygen and, surprisingly, generate an electric charge. This combination has led scientists to coin the term “geobattery.” The discovery of “black oxygen” has sparked excitement among researchers because it challenges conventional theories about the origin of life. The established understanding is that oxygen emerged on Earth around 3 billion years ago due to the rise of cyanobacteria. However, the presence of oxygen production in the deep sea raises intriguing possibilities. Andrew Sweetman of the Scottish Association for Marine Science suggests that life may have originated in environments other than Earth’s surface, such as near the ocean floor or on “ocean worlds” like Enceladus and Europa, moons of Saturn and Jupiter. These extraterrestrial habitats, if confirmed to possess similar conditions as the deep-sea oxygen-producing nodules, could foster the emergence of life beyond Earth. Further research is necessary to unravel the intricacies of “black oxygen” production and its potential implications for the origin of life. This discovery underscores the vast, unexplored depths of our oceans and the potential for groundbreaking discoveries that can redefine our scientific understanding.
Researchers have found a source of oxygen and electricity at the bottom of the ocean, just off the coast of Mexico, Olhar Digital reports. But in addition to energy, the so-called “black oxygen” could reveal more information about a theory that has exploded the origin of life.
“Black oxygen” is not produced by anything living. The element is made from tiny rocks called polymetallic nodules in a photosynthesis process that occurs more than 4,000 meters below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.
How was “black oxygen” discovered in the ocean?
Cameras installed on the seafloor more than 4,000 meters deep showed a jump in oxygen levels. In a statement, Sweetman said that when he saw the data, he thought the sensors were faulty, but the “strange oxygen readings kept coming back.”
“When we first got this data we thought the sensors were faulty because every study ever done on the seabed had only shown oxygen being consumed rather than produced,” Andrew Sweetman of the Scottish Association for Marine Science said in a statement.
ocean floor (Image: Shutterstock)
Since no biological explanation could be found, the team suspected that polymetallic nodules (deposits of a mixture of minerals) were responsible.
Some nodules were collected and after laboratory analysis it was found that some also produced 0.95 volts of electric charge. In the right direction, multiple nodules can produce higher voltages together, which scientists call a natural ‘geobattery’.
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“We now know that oxygen is produced in the deep sea, where there is no light. I think we need to rethink questions like: Where could aerobic life have originated?” the researcher added.
This could change the way studies indicate that life originated. The conventional theory is that oxygen arose about 3 billion years ago with the rise of cyanobacteria. But things could have been very different.
“Life could have originated in places other than Earth’s surface and near the ocean surface. Since this process is happening on our planet, it could create oxygen-rich habitats on other ‘ocean worlds’ such as Enceladus or Europa (moons of Saturn and Jupiter) and thus create the conditions for extraterrestrial life,” Sweetman said.
New research now needs to be done to understand exactly how “black oxygen” works and gain more details about its origins.
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