The oxygen "manufactured" in the ocean which calls into question the origin of life

An extraordinary discovery in the depths of the Pacific Ocean:some rocks appear to produce oxygen, probably through electrolysis.

A group of scientists revealed the presence of oxygen coming not from living organisms but from some particular ones rocks containing metals such as manganese, nickel and cobalt, in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.A surprising discovery, capable of even calling into question the theories accepted so far regarding the origin of life on Earth.

What is "black oxygen" discovered on the seabed of the Pacific

The study was conducted in a location where the natural light cannot penetrate, more than four thousand meters deep.Renamed "black oxygen", it was found in the Clipperton fracture zone, on the floor of the north-equatorial Pacific Ocean.Place where the eyes of mining companies which aim to exploit useful raw materials for the manufacture of electric batteries, photovoltaic panels or IT tools such as computers or smartphones.

It is here that a ship of theScottish Maritime Science Association (Sams), with the aim of making withdrawals of samples (and thanks to the financing of The Metals Company and UK Seabed Resources).The expedition aimed to understand the impact of a possible mining exploitation on a ecosystem devoid of light, in which it is therefore impossible photosynthesis, but which presents numerous unique animal species.

Initially it was thought that there was an error in the instruments

Andrew Sweetman, lead author of the study, which was published in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience, explained to the AFP agency that the team of experts tried to measure the consumption of oxygen by "imprisoning" sea water in particular instruments inside which it was expected that the concentration of this gas would be decreased, precisely because it is consumed by living organisms.On the contrary, it was observed that the rate "increased in the water above the sediments, in total darkness", specified the scientist.

Initially, the discovery appeared impossible to explain, so much so that a failure in the instruments.So, we tried to replicate the test on the surface, recreating the same conditions as the ocean floor, but the results were identical.“We have observed a electric voltage almost identical to an AA battery", which could suggest a water electrolysis process, capable of separating the molecules of hydrogen from those of oxygen.

Life on Earth may have appeared first in the sea and then on land

Other analyzes will be carried out, but for now the mere discovery of oxygen production through a process other than photosynthesis "pushes us to rethink the way in which life may have appeared on Earth”, confirmed Nicholas Owens, director of Sams.Until now, in fact, it has been hypothesized that oxygen appeared thanks to gods cyanobacteria, about three billion years ago, which then allowed the development of more complex organisms.But life may have appeared earlier than on emerged lands, precisely in the depths of the oceans.