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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/22/dark-oxygen-in-depths-of-pacific-ocean-could-force-rethink-about-origins-of-life>
"In the total darkness of the depths of the Pacific Ocean, scientists have
discovered oxygen being produced not by living organisms but by strange
potato-shaped metallic lumps that give off almost as much electricity as AA
batteries.
The surprise finding has many potential implications and could even require
rethinking how life first began on Earth, the researchers behind a study said
on Monday.
It had been thought that only living things such as plants and algae were
capable of producing oxygen via photosynthesis – which requires sunlight.
But four kilometres (2.5 miles) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, where
no sunlight can reach, small mineral deposits called polymetallic nodules have
been recorded making so-called dark oxygen for the first time.
The discovery was made in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), an abyssal plain
stretching between Hawaii and Mexico, where mining companies have plans to
start harvesting the nodules.
The lumpy nodules – often called “batteries in a rock” – are rich in metals
such as cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese, which are all used in batteries,
smartphones, wind turbines and solar panels."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
