Scientists find 'dark oxygen' deep beneath the sea. Dispelling the belief that oxygen gas is only produced by living organisms.
There is a belief that “Oxygen“It can only happen from living things. It happens through the photosynthesis of plants. Which relies on energy from the sun so much that it would cause a lot of people I didn’t think it was under the deep dark sea. And without living things there would be “oxygen.”
Recently, a team of marine scientists discovered that there is indeed oxygen deep beneath the sea. This oxygen is called “Dark oxygen (Dark oxygen)” which was said to be caused by”Metal cube puzzle”
Back in 2013, whenAndrew Sweetman An oceanographer noticed a malfunction in the measuring devices. When examined, the sensors clearly showed the presence of oxygen under the sea at a depth of more than 4,000 meters (4 km), and the absence of sunlight in that area.
At first Sweetman was surprised by such information and even thought the measuring device was broken. Because he had always believed that oxygen was produced by photosynthesis. It is impossible that at a depth of 4,000 meters below the surface of the sea, there is not even sunlight or life. Oxygen would be produced.
However, such an event did happen..three times“This made Sweetman feel good. This was unlikely to be an equipment error and for this reason, he and his team began to do serious research on the subject.
Later on July 22, Sweetman and his research team published a paper in Nature Geoscience stating that this dark oxygen was caused by “Multi-metallic cut(polymetallic nodules)
The research team found this mineral mass in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, or CCZ, in the Pacific Ocean.
The alloys are filled with iron such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese, which are often used in batteries, phones, wind turbines and solar panels.
Solar panel
However, at this time, the research team still can’t say for sure. How does this mass of metal produce oxygen? So, there needs to be further investigation. Initially, it was thought that it wasn’t due to biological factors such as microorganisms, and many people assumed that it might be caused by manganese oxide present in the metal masses. But Sweetman doesn’t think so.
Sweetman watched a documentary about underwater mining. “It’s a rock battery,” someone said, and Sweetman began to think.Will the metal block be electrochemical? We often mine these things to make batteries. But could they themselves be batteries?
To resolve this doubt, he met with Franz Geiger, an electrochemist from Northwestern University. To further verify this, he used a multimeter.
Upon examination, it was found that the electrical charge that occurs causes the process.electrolysis“Which separates seawater into hydrogen and oxygen.
Additionally, the metal mass was found to have a chemical reaction of up to 1.5 volts, an electrical charge as high as an AA battery.
“It looks like we’ve figured it out,” Geiger said. “These geological batteries are probably the primary explanation for the formation of the planet.” Dark oxygen In the ocean
These discoveries were surprising and unexpected for science. From this event we understand the importance of not only the production of mineral ores. But it can cause other useful things.
“If dark oxygenation is happening on our world, it could also be happening on other ocean stars, like Enceladus and Europa,” Sweatman said of the discovery. “Would this open up opportunities for organisms to live there?”