Scientists find metal minerals in deep sea as oxygen source

Scientists have discovered that metallic minerals on the seabed at depths of 13,000 feet (3,962 meters) below the Earth’s surface can produce oxygen.

The discovery by this group of academics has important consequences for our knowledge of Earth’s atmosphere and the potential for extraterrestrial life, challenging the long-held idea that oxygen is created primarily by photosynthetic organisms.

Previously, scientists believed that oxygen was a byproduct of life, specifically produced by photosynthetic autotrophs such as plants and algae. But recent research challenges that simplified story.

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The discovery was so surprising that when lead author Andrew Sweetman first detected this “dark oxygen” in the Pacific Ocean’s Clarion-Clipperton Zone in 2013, he immediately dismissed it.

“I just ignored it, because I was taught—you only get oxygen through photosynthesis,” Sweetman, an ecologist at the Scottish Marine Science Association, told BBC News’ Victoria Gill. “Finally, I realised that for years I had been ignoring this potentially huge discovery.”

Scientists discover deep-sea metallic mineral as oxygen source first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.