DARK OXYGEN

NEWS:

‘Dark oxygen’ discovered 4,000 meters below the Pacific Ocean where sunlight has never reached

ABOUT

• Dark Oxygenà oxygen produced deep in the ocean without sunlight or photosynthesis.
• Found thousands of feet below the ocean surface where sunlight does not reach.
• First observed in 2013.
• Detected in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (Pacific Ocean) located between Mexico and Hawaii.

SIGNIFICANCE

• Earlier belief: Oxygen is produced only through photosynthesis.
• Photosynthesis requires sunlight, carried out by: Oceanic plankton, Algae, Drifting plants, Certain bacteria
• At deep sea levels sunlight is absent, so oxygen production was considered impossible.

Source of Dark Oxygen

• Oxygenà produced from polymetallic nodules present on the ocean floor.
• These nodules resemble lumps of coal.

Composition of Polymetallic Nodules

• Contain metals such as: Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper, Lithium

Mechanism of Oxygen Production

• Nodules generate electricity.
• This electricity drives electrolysis, which splits water molecules and releases oxygen.
• Thus, oxygen is produced without sunlight and without biological processes.