Latest news with #AndrewSweetman
Gulf News
17-03-2025
- Science
- Gulf News
'Dark oxygen': A deep-sea discovery that has split scientists
Could lumpy metallic rocks in the deepest, darkest reaches of the ocean be making oxygen in the absence of sunlight? Some scientists think so, but others have challenged the claim that so-called "dark oxygen" is being produced in the lightless abyss of the seabed. The discovery - detailed last July in the journal Nature Geoscience - called into question long-held assumptions about the origins of life on Earth, and sparked intense scientific debate. The findings were also consequential for mining companies eager to extract the precious metals contained within these polymetallic nodules. Researchers said that potato-sized nodules could be producing enough electrical current to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen, a process known as electrolysis. This cast doubt on the long-established view that life was made possible when organisms started producing oxygen via photosynthesis, which requires sunlight, about 2.7 billion years ago. "Deep-sea discovery calls into question the origins of life," the Scottish Association for Marine Science said in a press release to accompany the publication of the research. Environmentalists said the presence of dark oxygen showed just how little is known about life at these extreme depths, and supported their case that deep-sea mining posed unacceptable ecological risks. "Greenpeace has long campaigned to stop deep sea mining from beginning in the Pacific due to the damage it could do to delicate, deep sea ecosystems," the environmental organisation said. "This incredible discovery underlines the urgency of that call". The discovery was made in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a vast underwater region of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii of growing interest to mining companies. Scattered on the seafloor four kilometres (2.5 miles) beneath the surface, polymetallic nodules contain manganese, nickel and cobalt, metals used in electric car batteries and other low-carbon technologies. The research that gave rise to the dark oxygen discovery was partly funded by a Canadian deep-sea mining business, The Metals Company, that wanted to assess the ecological impact of such exploration. It has sharply criticised the study by marine ecologist Andrew Sweetman and his team as plagued by "methodological flaws". Michael Clarke, environmental manager at The Metals Company, told AFP that the findings "are more logically attributable to poor scientific technique and shoddy science than a never before observed phenomenon." Sweetman's findings proved explosive, with many in the scientific community expressing reservations or rejecting the conclusions. Since July, five academic research papers refuting Sweetman's findings have been submitted for review and publication. "He did not present clear proof for his observations and hypothesis," said Matthias Haeckel, a biogeochemist at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany. "Many questions remain after the publication. So, now the scientific community needs to conduct similar experiments etc, and either prove or disprove it." Olivier Rouxel, a geochemistry researcher at Ifremer, the French national institute for ocean science and technology, told AFP there was "absolutely no consensus on these results". "Deep-sea sampling is always a challenge," he said, adding it was possible that the oxygen detected was "trapped air bubbles" in the measuring instruments. He was also sceptical about deep-sea nodules, some tens of millions of years old, still producing enough electrical current when "batteries run out quickly". "How is it possible to maintain the capacity to generate electrical current in a nodule that is itself extremely slow to form?" he asked. When contacted by AFP, Sweetman indicated that he was preparing a formal response. "These types of back and forth are very common with scientific articles and it moves the subject matter forward," he said. Sign up for the Daily Briefing Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Dark oxygen': a deep-sea discovery that has split scientists
Could lumpy metallic rocks in the deepest, darkest reaches of the ocean be making oxygen in the absence of sunlight? Some scientists think so, but others have challenged the claim that so-called "dark oxygen" is being produced in the lightless abyss of the seabed. The discovery -- detailed last July in the journal Nature Geoscience -- called into question long-held assumptions about the origins of life on Earth, and sparked intense scientific debate. The findings were also consequential for mining companies eager to extract the precious metals contained within these polymetallic nodules. Researchers said that potato-sized nodules could be producing enough electrical current to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen, a process known as electrolysis. This cast doubt on the long-established view that life was made possible when organisms started producing oxygen via photosynthesis, which requires sunlight, about 2.7 billion years ago. "Deep-sea discovery calls into question the origins of life," the Scottish Association for Marine Science said in a press release to accompany the publication of the research. - Delicate ecosystem - Environmentalists said the presence of dark oxygen showed just how little is known about life at these extreme depths, and supported their case that deep-sea mining posed unacceptable ecological risks. "Greenpeace has long campaigned to stop deep sea mining from beginning in the Pacific due to the damage it could do to delicate, deep sea ecosystems," the environmental organisation said. "This incredible discovery underlines the urgency of that call". The discovery was made in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a vast underwater region of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii of growing interest to mining companies. Scattered on the seafloor four kilometres (2.5 miles) beneath the surface, polymetallic nodules contain manganese, nickel and cobalt, metals used in electric car batteries and other low-carbon technologies. The research that gave rise to the dark oxygen discovery was partly funded by a Canadian deep-sea mining business, The Metals Company, that wanted to assess the ecological impact of such exploration. It has sharply criticised the study by marine ecologist Andrew Sweetman and his team as plagued by "methodological flaws". Michael Clarke, environmental manager at The Metals Company, told AFP that the findings "are more logically attributable to poor scientific technique and shoddy science than a never before observed phenomenon." - Scientific doubts - Sweetman's findings proved explosive, with many in the scientific community expressing reservations or rejecting the conclusions. Since July, five academic research papers refuting Sweetman's findings have been submitted for review and publication. "He did not present clear proof for his observations and hypothesis," said Matthias Haeckel, a biogeochemist at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany. "Many questions remain after the publication. So, now the scientific community needs to conduct similar experiments etc, and either prove or disprove it." Olivier Rouxel, a geochemistry researcher at Ifremer, the French national institute for ocean science and technology, told AFP there was "absolutely no consensus on these results". "Deep-sea sampling is always a challenge," he said, adding it was possible that the oxygen detected was "trapped air bubbles" in the measuring instruments. He was also sceptical about deep-sea nodules, some tens of millions of years old, still producing enough electrical current when "batteries run out quickly". "How is it possible to maintain the capacity to generate electrical current in a nodule that is itself extremely slow to form?" he asked. When contacted by AFP, Sweetman indicated that he was preparing a formal response. "These types of back and forth are very common with scientific articles and it moves the subject matter forward," he said. aag/np/fg/pjm
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Dark oxygen': a deep-sea discovery that has split scientists
Could lumpy metallic rocks in the deepest, darkest reaches of the ocean be making oxygen in the absence of sunlight? Some scientists think so, but others have challenged the claim that so-called "dark oxygen" is being produced in the lightless abyss of the seabed. The discovery -- detailed last July in the journal Nature Geoscience -- called into question long-held assumptions about the origins of life on Earth, and sparked intense scientific debate. The findings were also consequential for mining companies eager to extract the precious metals contained within these polymetallic nodules. Researchers said that potato-sized nodules could be producing enough electrical current to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen, a process known as electrolysis. This cast doubt on the long-established view that life was made possible when organisms started producing oxygen via photosynthesis, which requires sunlight, about 2.7 billion years ago. "Deep-sea discovery calls into question the origins of life," the Scottish Association for Marine Science said in a press release to accompany the publication of the research. - Delicate ecosystem - Environmentalists said the presence of dark oxygen showed just how little is known about life at these extreme depths, and supported their case that deep-sea mining posed unacceptable ecological risks. "Greenpeace has long campaigned to stop deep sea mining from beginning in the Pacific due to the damage it could do to delicate, deep sea ecosystems," the environmental organisation said. "This incredible discovery underlines the urgency of that call". The discovery was made in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a vast underwater region of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii of growing interest to mining companies. Scattered on the seafloor four kilometres (2.5 miles) beneath the surface, polymetallic nodules contain manganese, nickel and cobalt, metals used in electric car batteries and other low-carbon technologies. The research that gave rise to the dark oxygen discovery was partly funded by a Canadian deep-sea mining business, The Metals Company, that wanted to assess the ecological impact of such exploration. It has sharply criticised the study by marine ecologist Andrew Sweetman and his team as plagued by "methodological flaws". Michael Clarke, environmental manager at The Metals Company, told AFP that the findings "are more logically attributable to poor scientific technique and shoddy science than a never before observed phenomenon." - Scientific doubts - Sweetman's findings proved explosive, with many in the scientific community expressing reservations or rejecting the conclusions. Since July, five academic research papers refuting Sweetman's findings have been submitted for review and publication. "He did not present clear proof for his observations and hypothesis," said Matthias Haeckel, a biogeochemist at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany. "Many questions remain after the publication. So, now the scientific community needs to conduct similar experiments etc, and either prove or disprove it." Olivier Rouxel, a geochemistry researcher at Ifremer, the French national institute for ocean science and technology, told AFP there was "absolutely no consensus on these results". "Deep-sea sampling is always a challenge," he said, adding it was possible that the oxygen detected was "trapped air bubbles" in the measuring instruments. He was also sceptical about deep-sea nodules, some tens of millions of years old, still producing enough electrical current when "batteries run out quickly". "How is it possible to maintain the capacity to generate electrical current in a nodule that is itself extremely slow to form?" he asked. When contacted by AFP, Sweetman indicated that he was preparing a formal response. "These types of back and forth are very common with scientific articles and it moves the subject matter forward," he said. aag/np/fg/pjm
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Critics Shot Down A Major 'Dark Oxygen' Discovery. Experts Are Trying to Prove Them Wrong.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." In the summer of 2024, an international team of scientists reported the presence of dark oxygen along the ocean floor and theorized that polymetallic nodules may have created this gas via seawater electrolysis. A flurry of criticism followed the article's publication, including from the deep-sea mining company that funded the study, and challenged the scientists' conclusions. Now, the researchers will once again return to the deep sea specifically to study dark oxygen production and hopefully settle this scientific disagreement once and for all. Most oxygen on Earth is produced by photosynthesis, as plants and plankton gobble sunlight for food and produce that oh-so-wonderful, life-giving O2. However, that's not the only way oxygen can be produced. Enter 'dark oxygen,' a process that isn't as nefarious as it sounds. Simply put, it refers to oxygen produced without sunlight. Although a couple examples of dark oxygen exist, a new potential source—discovered at the dark depths of the Pacific Ocean's Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), nestled between Hawaii and the western coast of Mexico—has created a firestorm of interest. It's also sparked significant controversy, as the source of this new dark oxygen could be polymetallic nodules, which are mineral-rich objects that are the prize of deep sea mining companies like The Metals Company. In July of 2024, an international team of scientists published a paper in the journal Nature Geoscience claiming that these polymetallic nodules (also known as manganese nodules) could be producing oxygen via electrolysis. As millions of years of metallic layers built up in the nodules—similar to a voltaic pile—the differing electric potential could theoretically produce enough energy to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. Almost immediately upon publication, The Metals Company (who helped fund the research) disagreed with the results, and other doubts in the academic community (none of which have been peer reviewed) began to surface. Andrew Sweetman—lead author of the study and a deep-sea ecologist at the U.K.'s Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)—and his colleagues have stood by the results. 'What if you're getting millions of these little tiny batteries on manganese oxide particles in the nodules […] and there's electrons flowing through the internal layer structure of the manganese oxide?,' Sweetman told Popular Mechanics back in September of 2024. 'I was the worst critic of this paper for 10 years. I said 'no, this is not possible' until I couldn't say no anymore.' Now, Sweetman—backed by funding from a Japanese charity called The Nippon Foundation—will venture once more to the CCZ to specifically test nodules from the sea floor and hopefully put these criticisms to rest. According to New Scientist, the team will use custom-built landers that can descend up to 12,000 meters below sea level, which is twice the required depth needed to study the nodules. The researchers will also search for the presence of hydrogen, which was not specifically tested in previous research, to further confirm that electrolysis is taking place. The first of three research expeditions will set sail in January of 2026 from San Diego, California, and Sweetman remains confident of the outcome. This research comes at a sensitive time, as the International Seabed Authority (the global governing body that presides over the CCZ) is still determining the rules and regulations of mining these resource-rich nodules. If these hunks of metal are producing trace amounts of oxygen vis seawater electrolysis, the damage to this already sensitive area could be severe—and conservation groups have taken notice. 'This is an excellent example of what it means to have the deep ocean as a frontier, a relatively unexplored part of our planet,' Oceanographer Lisa Levin told the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition at the time of the initial paper's publication. 'There are still new processes to discover that challenge what we know about life in our ocean.' This will be the first research expedition undertaken with the express purpose of searching for dark oxygen. Previous research on this discovery was part of a more general research expedition investigating ocean respiration. Although Sweetman has faced mounting criticism—which he admits has taken a personal toll—he remains confident of this future expedition's outcome, as he's seen evidence of this inexplicable oxygen show up in his work for more than a decade. 'I know [dark oxygen production] is happening. We have found this now in six places,' Sweetman told New Scientist. 'I know we are going to find it.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
