Scientists find ‘dark’ periodic element among metallic rocks in deep ocean

A recent study by Professor Andrew K Sweetman (leader of the Seafloor Ecology and Biogeochemistry research group at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), published in Nature Geoscience detailed a surprising deep-sea development in the Pacific.

Sweetman discovered that a group of metallic rocks appeared to be able to create oxygen - despite being in the dark on the seabed, without light or sunshine.

The concept is at odds with the idea of photosynthesis in which green plants and other organisms transform light energy into chemical energy, then convert water, carbon dioxide and minerals into oxygen and glucose. For that process to happen, sunlight is needed.

Th report states that “Oxygen is prevalent in deep-sea surface sediments where its rate of consumption reflects the sum of aerobic respiration and oxidation of reduced inorganic compounds produced by anaerobic decay”.

Oxygen-producing nodules formed over millions of years

Ferromanganese nodules were collected as part of a mineral exploration exercise in the NORI-D license area - to be more specific, the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and Mexico.

As the name suggests, these ferromanganese nodules are packed with metals including manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and platinum with an average ratio Mn/Fe of 0.84 and terrestrial organic matter (OM).

They are deposited on the ocean floor, 4,000 to 5,000 meters below sea level, forming slowly over millions of years as minerals from seawater build up in layers of manganese oxyhydroxide around a tiny nucleus - for example a shark’s tooth or a piece of shell. The manganese is sourced from sediment layers on the sea floor. The end result looks liked a lump of coal or a charred potato.

Oxygen produced 5,000 meters under the sea

Sweetman’s team suggested that the ferromanganese nodules may produce electric charges that spark electrolysis, generating oxygen and hydrogen - without the need for light.

Dense populations of polymetallic nodules are scattered along the sea floor - up to 100 per square meter. These were retrieved and taken ashore where oxygen concentration values were calculated.

Not everyone is convinced by Sweetman’s theory - some researchers have claimed they have found evidence that these nodules are capable of producing electrical charges.

But the studies in these strange ferromanganese nodules will continue - hopefully, the findings might contribute to expanding our understanding of life and the mysteries of the sea.

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