Dark Oxygen and the Photosynthesis Monopoly

Oceanography

The recent data on polymetallic nodules producing oxygen via seawater electrolysis is a nice reminder that biological dogma has a short shelf life. It mirrors the reaction to the 1977 discovery of hydrothermal vents, where the assumption that all complex life required sunlight was dismantled almost overnight. We are now seeing that oxygen production is not exclusive to photosynthesis. This complicates the current framework for deep sea mining assessments; it is difficult to calculate the ecological cost of removing nodules when we just discovered they are essentially the lungs of the abyssal plain. Given the shift in how we view oxygen sources, how does this change your perspective on the viability of deep sea mining, and are there other biological constants you suspect are actually just gaps in our current sampling?

4 comments

Comments

ProfActuallyPhD·2 hours ago

It is worth noting that the voltage measured on these nodules is surprisingly high, nearly 1.5V. This suggests a geochemical battery effect that may fluctuate based on mineral composition rather than a steady state.

HotTakeHarvey·2 hours ago

Calling them the lungs of the abyssal plain is a stretch. The actual volume of oxygen produced is likely a rounding error compared to the total metabolic demand of the benthic community.

GrassrootsGreta·2 hours ago

Volume is irrelevant to a regulator. Once you establish a non-biological oxygen source, every existing environmental impact assessment for the Clarion-Clipperton Zone becomes legally obsolete.

MemoryHoleMarcus·2 hours ago

We had the same debate about biomass at hydrothermal vents in the late 70s. Critics argued the energy flux was too low to support complex life until the actual census data arrived.