"Dark" Oxygen found deep in the sea! Can it tell about the origin of life?

Oxygen is a gas that makes life possible on the planet. It is a well-established fact that human beings and many other animals inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, making one cycle of respiration. However, one may be wrong to consider that all the oxygen of the planet is present on the land only.

Scientists have recently found “dark” oxygen in the sea. This oxygen is produced about 13,000 feet below the sea level. What is meant by “dark” oxygen? Here’s every detail to know.

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First things first, who discovered it?

Andrew Sweetman, an ocean scientist found the strange phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean. Initially, the ocean scientist doubted the possibility, thinking that there could be some sort of defect with the monitoring equipment. The sensors found oxygen production deep down the sea without sunlight. The oxygen was found 13,100 feet deep in the sea bed.

Still in doubt, Professor Sweetman directed his team of students to give the sensors back to the manufacturer for the purpose of testing. According to the sea scientist, the sensors were producing gibberish results.

Next, the manufacturer confirmed consistently that there was no problem with the sensors. That is when the sea scientist knew that he has found something exceptionally strange.

Andrew Sweetman found the “dark” oxygen quite unexpectedly, being produced on the seafloor. Sweetman was actually on the venture of assessing marine biodiversity.

This area is a potential mining area, and it carries polymetallic nodules. These nodules have been formed over eons via chemical processes. These processes involve squid breaks, shark teeth, and shell fragments.

The Dark Oxygen

It is well established that organisms that make use of the process of photosynthesis such as green plants, algae, and plankton make use of sunlight in order to produce oxygen. It is this produced oxygen that becomes a life-source of many organisms on the planet, including humans. In cases where the photosynthetic organisms are present inside the sea, the oxygen thus produced cycles into the depths of the ocean.

The deep-sea studies done previously demonstrated that organisms there do not produce oxygen. They only consume it.

However, the results found by Andrew Sweetman and his team were different as they challenged this belief. What they discovered was the possibility of production of oxygen without photosynthesis. The sea scientist further noted that unexpected findings like this need careful consideration.

Additionally, the sea scientist noted that understanding the production of oxygen could prove to be groundbreaking, as it could provide an insight into the origin of life on the planet.

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