A scientific discovery at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean challenges theories about the origin of life. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone, besides hiding metals for green energy, now shows the ability to generate oxygen without light.
This phenomenon, known as dark oxygen, was detected in polymetallic nodules at a depth of 4,000 meters (13,123 feet). It challenges what we knew about life on Earth and its possible existence on other planets.
What did they find at the bottom of the sea?
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), located between Hawaii and Mexico, is an abyssal plain of 4.5 million km² (1.7 million square miles). There, billions of polymetallic nodules loaded with cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, and manganese are concentrated.
Until now, it was thought that their main value was mining. But a new study revealed that they also produce oxygen in total darkness, which opens a door to reinterpret the role of these minerals in the origin of life.
How is oxygen caused without sunlight?
Ecologist Andrew Sweetman discovered in 2013 that, instead of decreasing, oxygen levels increased in the deepest areas of the CCZ. After ruling out sensor errors, the mystery became a scientific hypothesis.
