Yves here. We linked to reports of the discovery of so-called dark oxygen, but we did not realize that this finding could argue for restricting deep sea mining.
By Felicity Bradstock, a freelance writer specializing in energy and finance. Originally published at OilPrice
- Potato-shaped metallic nodules deep under the Pacific Ocean produce oxygen in complete darkness, challenging previous assumptions about oxygen production.
- The discovery of “dark oxygen” raises questions about the origins of life on Earth and the potential impact of deep-sea mining on marine ecosystems.
- The International Seabed Authority is under pressure to develop mining regulations that protect the seabed and marine life as more countries and companies express interest in deep-sea mining.
The discovery of “dark oxygen”, oxygen produced deep under the surface of the sea, is shining a light on the potential risks of deep-sea mining for metals and minerals. There has already been great controversy over plans to approve deep-sea mining activities at the international level, to meet the growing demand for critical minerals, and the recent discovery demonstrates just how little we know about marine ecosystems.
An international team of researchers recently discovered that oxygen is being made by potato-shaped metallic nodules deep under the surface of the Pacific Ocean. In July, their findings, which throw into dispute the concepts of oxygen production, were published in the Nature Geoscience jonal. The discovery could lead to a reconsideration of the origins of complex life on Earth.
The findings from a team of researchers led by Professor Andrew Sweetman at the U.K.’s Scottish Association for Marine Science, show that oxygen is being produced at around 4,000 metres below the surface of the ocean in complete darkness. This contradicts previous scientific assumptions that only living organisms, including plants and algae, can use energy to create oxygen through photosynthesis, using sunlight for the reaction.
Sweetman explained, “For aerobic life to begin on the planet, there had to be oxygen and our understanding has been that Earth’s oxygen supply began with photosynthetic organisms.” He added, “But we now know that there is oxygen produced in the deep sea, where there is no light. I think we therefore need to revisit questions like: where could aerobic life have begun?”
The team made the discovery while conducting fieldwork between Hawaii and Mexico to assess the potential effects of deep-sea mining. Samples of nodules from the seabed in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone were found to contain a “very high” electric charge, which could support seawater electrolysis to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen. Sweetman says that these nodules appear to be “effectively batteries in a rock”.
The new understanding of how oxygen is produced suggests the need for greater research, with a focus on the largely unexplored seabed. It also demonstrates how little we know about the undersea ecosystem and calls into question whether plans for deep-sea mining should go ahead. Many argue that we need to launch deep-sea mining operations to provide the critical minerals needed to power a global green transition, to diminish the effects of climate change. However, many environmentalists and scientists are concerned about launching invasive undersea activities without a full understanding of the potential environmental impact of deep-sea mining. Although deep-sea mining could provide a much-needed supply of the minerals needed for renewable energy equipment, electric vehicle batteries and clean technologies, it could create other environmental issues in the future.
The International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N. regulator that oversees deep-sea mining, is currently in the process of developing mining regulations, as more countries and companies show interest in developing new projects. There is an abundance of potato-sized nodules of critical minerals, including cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese, sitting on the bottom of the seafloor, which many see as vital for fuelling a green transition. In January, Norway became the first country to approve the practice of deep-sea mining for critical minerals. However, it will not immediately launch new mining projects, instead, the government will assess proposals from mining companies on a case-by-case basis for license approval. The likelihood of new deep-sea mining operations commencing in the coming years has put pressure on the ISA to develop international mining regulations to ensure the protection of the seabed and marine life.
However, there has been great controversy over the ISA leadership in recent months, as the current ISA secretary general, Michael Lodge, battles against his opponent, Leticia Carvalho, for the next term in the role. Whoever takes the position for the next term will have significant input on deep-sea mining regulations. While Lodge strongly supports the establishment of regulations to allow for project development, Carvalho believes that more time is needed to understand the potential implications of deep-sea mining before appropriate regulations can be established. Supporters of each of the candidates have accused the other side of attempting to influence the outcome of the election by offering to pay for travel costs for delegates and pay delegations’ past-due membership fees. As countries in arrears are not permitted to vote, this could influence the outcome.
There is already scrutiny over the ISA structure, following several complaints about the current leadership and the upcoming election for a secretary general. The ISA is responsible for ensuring the protection of the undersea ecosystem, with some member states that would benefit from new mining activities and others who fear the impact of mining on their seas and land. The recent discovery of “dark oxygen” puts greater pressure on the ISA to conduct further research in the field to gain a better understanding of the potential impact of deep-sea mining and potentially halt any new projects until they are more certain of the implications.
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Thank you Yves for posting this!
I had glimpsed this paper last week, but hadn’t had a chance to study it in any detail. The finding is really mind-blowing, impossible to overstate its significance. And these fluxes are not minor: up to almost 20 mmol-O2/m2/day. Amazing. Also important implications for carbon cycle as well. So much we don’t know about our little blue planet.
And thank God for open access pubs!
For the layman, could you convert that into Tonnes per Year for all of planet earth ?
Or as a percentage of the total biological O2 production ?
Anyone know the percentage of the Earth covered by ocean of the depth needed? so I can use this to get a better answer.
Assuming the whole Earth is ocean, I get a flux of 100,000Gt a year. Anyone else got an answer?
Apparently the net oxygen is decreasing 38Gt a year. LINK
So even if it just a thousandth of the earths surface, this is extremely significant.
Here
https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/18ccz/background/mining/mining.html
it is stated that in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone which is referenced in the article, there are already 1 Million square kilometers of mining rights issued. The earth surface has 500 Million km2, so that Zone alone is one 500th of the earths surface.
Very significant if true.
I also really wonder how those manganese nodules got there, and just there.
Back in the day there were articles about the unlimited bounty of the seafloor and all those manganese nodules just sitting there waiting to be harvested. Manganese seemed to enjoy the bulk of the publicity.
Now with the dark oxygen theme, expect some dystopian films showing how over-harvesting of nodules leads to some de-oxygenation of the seas, contributing to a collapse of, well, everything. One suggested title could be Logan’s Swim.
Our ignorance is very great. Our danger comes from people who claim to understand how our world works, when they actually only understand very little.
Hubris as always dominates.
Climate Change the Green Revolution are two examples of this.
With Climate Change, our elites promote solutions that do not work, and will cause more damage than good, while taking the focus away from simple solutions that can be done right now. For example we could be localizing our economies especially with respect to food production right now.
With the Green Revolution we are now experiencing the down side, as we have burned our soils out, and poisoned our food with chemicals. We have substituted chemicals for food because they are more shelf stable with unknown consequences, although I hypothesize they are the cause of much of our cancers and obesity.
“With the Green Revolution we are now experiencing the down side, as we have burned our soils out, and poisoned our food with chemicals. We have substituted chemicals for food because they are more shelf stable with unknown consequences, although I hypothesize they are the cause of much of our cancers and obesity.”
I have noticed that my health keeps improving the less I eat of prepackaged “food” even if it is still an American diet of questionable health, but still stripped of the preservatives and other ingredients now added.
But that is the point. As with the latest technology, it is adding profits for the few instead of benefiting the many.
Carvalho is in; Lodge is out at ISA.
Everybody’s hair is on fire about fossil fuels, climate change, and mining minerals for battery-electric “green” (sic) technologies that will enable our next jump to 9 billion lives in being. The pressure is on to skip the science. Which way shall we kill the planet?
https://apple.news/A9Wag-zFTQCqrvbijGfTiLw
recall when a link to this was added to Links a short while back and my comment at the time was the effect of scouring the ocean bottom for metals was a fool’s errand – it included a discussion thread about TMC being touted heavily in investment newsletters – and Greenpeace has been active in resisting –
https://phys.org/news/2023-11-showdown-deep-sea-pacific.html
hopefully this discovery will slow down & maybe outlaw such mining, not to hopeful on that count since it’s being considered by many other countries – as a species we continue to blunder our way to extinction –
been paying attention to this for a couple of years – first bookmarked link was from 2 years ago –
https://www.treehugger.com/deep-sea-mining-impact-5181155
https://www.mining.com/shallow-water-mining-in-direct-conflict-with-sustainability-goals-study/
I wonder if the abundance of potato-sized nodules of critical minerals includes gold.
Manganese is used in living cells to split H2O (core metal ion in water splitting enzymes) so it’s not too much of a surprise Manganese nodules do the same.
Looks like the can is in the process of getting kicked down the road, in terms of putting protections in place before mining starts.
https://phys.org/news/2024-08-deep-sea-opponents-major-setback.html
There is no restraint when it comes to genetic enhancement of viruses to make more infective and pathogenic viruses. No pause in the production of mRNA vaccines in spite of the large amount of adverse affects that are bot of interest to our health agencies. No restraint when it comes to industrial farming which converts living soil into dead soil. No significant restraint on basing our modes of transportation and industrial production of green house gases. No restraint on the production of highly processed foods. No restraint on our foreign policy decisions that dangerously move us closer to nuclear war. No restraint on our financial system which brought us a nearly total economic collapse and massive inequality. There was no restraint when we invaded Iraq. No restraint in supporting Israeli genocide. I could go on but the important thing to realize that those who question are punished severely for going against the grain and there voices are removed from the media and public discourse. Money is to be made in all these cases and those that raise questions are isolated and punished. I thought a rule of thumb was to error on the side of caution but that’s gone. Why would we expect deep sea mining to be paused until we better understand the consequences?
Try to imagine another 1985 Live Aid Concert today to help the starving people in our world.
You Don’t Have to Live Like a Refugee – RIP.