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In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have found that oxygen is being produced in the deep, dark depths of the Pacific Ocean by peculiar potato-shaped metallic lumps, emitting electricity comparable to AA batteries. This unexpected revelation challenges existing beliefs about oxygen production, raising questions about the origins of life on Earth. The study suggests a potential paradigm shift, as it was previously assumed that only living organisms like plants could generate oxygen through photosynthesis, a process dependent on sunlight. Learn more about this fascinating finding: [Link to the article] #Science #Discovery #OceanResearch

DARK OXYGEN -- In a baffling discovery, scientists have found oxygen being released at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, challenging the long-held belief that only living organisms can produce oxygen through photosynthesis. • The phenomenon, first observed in 2013 and confirmed in subsequent expeditions, occurs 2.5 miles below the surface where sunlight cannot penetrate. • Researchers hypothesize that rocks containing metals like nickel and cobalt may be splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen through seawater electrolysis, supported by the detection of elevated voltage in the samples. • This unexpected finding not only puzzles scientists but also challenges theories about the origin of life, suggesting alternative mechanisms for oxygen production in environments devoid of sunlight. Unknown unknowns are all around us. We've only just begun... 🚀

This is very, very important: there is another source of oxygen on the planet besides photosynthesis! It has been discovered that metallic minerals are capable of producing oxygen in the darkness at the bottom of the oceans, about 4000 meters below the surface. There is a chemical reaction that produces oxygen (called dark oxygen) by splitting water molecules, but its energy source is still unknown. This could rethink all theories about how oxygen (aerobic) life began on the planet 🤯! The discovery was published in Nature Geosciences https://lnkd.in/di2JfaZa

New seabed discoveries are upending our basic understanding of how oxygen and life are formed on this planet. Imagine what the next several decades of research will reveal.

Geobacter sulfurreducens is a bacteria that’s particularly adept at living in anaerobic environments deep within the Earth. Scientists have long marveled at how this microbe survives the inhospitable conditions found underground, but over the years, experts have slowly pieced together an explanation. One of the biggest discoveries was that Geobacter essentially powers a microbial electric grid underneath our feet. In order to “breathe” with oxygen, this bacteria transfers excess electrons to minuscule electric “hairs” known as nanowires, which shoot off from the microbe’s surface. These hairs connect with surrounding minerals and other microbes, creating a kind of connected biological grid that makes life possible. However, scientists haven’t been able to figure out exactly what charges these hairs in the first place—at least, not until now. Scientists from Yale University and the NOVA School of Science and Technology in Lisbon, Portugal, have found a specific family of proteins responsible for this underground electric wonderland. #bioenergy #geobacter #gaia #biologicalgrid

Recent marine research in the Pacific Ocean has unveiled a groundbreaking discovery that challenges our understanding of the origins of life. Hmm 🤔 Scientists exploring the deep seafloor observed a peculiar phenomenon where oxygen levels were rising in complete darkness, contrary to the conventional belief that oxygen is produced through photosynthesis involving sunlight. The discovery of 'dark oxygen' was made possible by potato-sized metallic deposits found on the seafloor, releasing oxygen without the involvement of living organisms. This revelation, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, suggests that these metallic deposits in the Pacific's Clarion-Clipperton Zone produce oxygen through seawater electrolysis, a process that splits seawater into oxygen and hydrogen in the presence of an electric charge. https://lnkd.in/dNuJURuA

HEMANTH LINGAMGUNTA Dark Oxygen:- Dark oxygen refers to molecular oxygen (O₂) found at great ocean depths where sunlight cannot penetrate, thus not produced by photosynthesis. This phenomenon was discovered in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone between Hawaii and Mexico. The oxygen is generated by electrolysis, where metallic nodules on the seafloor act like batteries, splitting seawater into hydrogen and oxygen. This discovery challenges the traditional understanding that all oxygen is produced through photosynthesis and raises concerns about the ecological impact of deep-sea mining, which targets these metal-rich nodules for their valuable resources[1][2][3]. Citations: [1] Dark oxygen - Wikipedia https://lnkd.in/gctNXyJT [2] Dark oxygen made by deep sea 'batteries' - BBC https://lnkd.in/g2_J-NSF [3] 'Dark oxygen' discovered on the seafloor raises stakes for deep-sea ... https://lnkd.in/gtAcQCup [4] Evidence of dark oxygen production at the abyssal seafloor - Nature https://lnkd.in/gBsYpPFn [5] We Just Discovered "Dark" Oxygen on Earth - Breakthrough Explained https://lnkd.in/gSqn7atE [6] Mystery oxygen source discovered on the sea floor - Nature https://lnkd.in/gx6tyKwb [7] Scientists discover 'dark' oxygen being produced more than ... - CNN https://lnkd.in/gxyfdpbi

📃Scientific paper: The Geochemical Potential for Metabolic Processes on the Sub-Neptune Exoplanet K2-18b Abstract: Quantifying disequilibria is important to understand whether an environment could be habitable. It has been proposed that the exoplanet K2-18b has a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean, making it a "hycean world". The James Webb Space Telescope recently made measurements of methane, CO$\_2$, and possibly dimethyl sulfide \(DMS\) in the atmosphere of this planet. The initial interpretation of these data is that they may support the occurrence of hycean conditions. Here, I attempt to take a next step in exploring the prospects for habitability. I use constraints on the abundances of atmospheric gases to calculate how much chemical disequilibrium there could be, assuming K2-18b is a hycean world. I find that the presence of oxidized carbon species coexisting with abundant H$\_2$ \(1-1000 bar\) at cool to warm \(25-120\{\deg\}C\) conditions creates a strong thermodynamic drive for methanogenesis. More than \~75 kJ \(mol C\)$^\{-1\}$ of free energy can be released from CO$\_2$ hydrogenation. Partially oxidized carbon compounds such as DMS \(if present\) also have potential to provide metabolic energy, albeit in smaller quantities. Because of the thermodynamic instability of CO$\_2$ under hycean conditions, other reductive reactions of CO$\_2$ are likely to be favored, including the synthesis of amino acids. Glycine and alanine synthesis can be energy-releasing or at least much less costly on K2-18b than in Earth's ocean, even when NH$\_3$ is scarce but not totally absent. These fir... Continued on ES/IODE ➡️ https://etcse.fr/UTL ------- If you find this interesting, feel free to follow, comment and share. We need your help to enhance our visibility, so that our platform continues to serve you.

A landmark study by the Scottish Association For Marine Science has identified a previously unknown source of oxygen in the deep sea. Dubbed 'dark oxygen' due to its presence at depths where no sunlight can reach, the source of the gas has been identified as naturally occurring metal nodules located on the seafloor, formed over millions of years by the accumulation of dissolved metals on fragments of shells or debris. The researchers discovered that these nodules contain significant quantities of lithium, cobalt and copper, essentially causing them to function like batteries, capable of generating an electrical current large enough to electrolyse molecules of seawater into hydrogen and oxygen. The discovery fundamentally changes our understanding of how life exists in the deep ocean, and presents new possibilities for how oxygen-rich environments could exist on other planets. Read the full story in BBC News: https://rb.gy/bvabyv

Dark #Oxygen #Scientists have recently #discovered a strange phenomenon, dubbed “dark oxygen” in the deep #sea. A ground-breaking study published Monday found that oxygen is being produced in complete darkness nearly 4,000 metres or 13,100 feet below the #ocean surface. The discovery has left experts baffled as it defies the general scientific consensus of the production of oxygen via photosynthesis. What makes this discovery so strange is that, in this case, oxygen is not being produced by #plants. The study explains that oxygen comes out of #metallic “nodules” that are similar in resemblance to lumps of #coal. They are splitting H2O molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The nodules could serve as #catalysts, enabling the splitting of #water and the formation of molecular oxygen. The researchers measured #voltages across the surface of nodules, and found voltage differences of up to 0.95 volts. This is not quite the 1.5 volts needed to split a water molecule, but, in principle, higher voltages could be produced in the same way that #battery voltages can be doubled by connecting two batteries in series, Sweetman says. What is dark oxygen? Dark oxygen – defined in this context as oxygen that's produced without using #sunlight, as it is on the #Earth's surface via #photosynthesis – is produced when nodules comprised of several rare #metals and that lie on the deep, dark #seafloor react with #salt #water, according to a paper published in #Nature Geoscience. The phenomena was first observed in 2013, when the lead scientist of the study, Andrew Sweetman, a professor at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, was studying the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an area between Mexico and Hawaii. Importance of this study Sweetman says that before deep-sea #mining starts, researchers should map the areas where oxygen production is occurring. Otherwise, #ecosystems that have become dependent on that oxygen could collapse if the nodules are removed. “If there’s oxygen being produced in large amounts, it’s possibly going to be important for the animals that are living there.” Read More: https://lnkd.in/gA2DRYjj https://lnkd.in/g7iU8anX