Scientists recently made a surprising discovery: a mysterious form of oxygen, which they’re calling "dark" oxygen, found right here on Earth. Unlike the oxygen we breathe, this type doesn't behave the way scientists expected, making it harder to detect. It's thought to exist in extreme conditions, like deep underground or in places with intense pressure. This new discovery could help us better understand the Earth's deep layers and how elements behave in such harsh environments. Some even think it could reveal new clues about how oxygen behaves on other planets. It's a fascinating reminder that there's still so much we don't know about our own planet! Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/ Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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00:00When diving into the icy depths of the Pacific Ocean, 13,000 feet down, something strange
00:07happens.
00:08The oxygen levels suddenly spike.
00:11It doesn't make sense since we're surrounded by this terrifying darkness.
00:15That's when researchers figured out they were dealing with something totally new – dark
00:20oxygen.
00:21This special kind of oxygen, formed in the cold depths of the ocean, could change our
00:26understanding of the origins of life on Earth.
00:29It might even bring us closer to finding life on distant planets.
00:33And it was all discovered by accident.
00:38Our adventure begins in the Clarion-Clipperton zone, a vast area in Pacific waters that is
00:44larger than Mexico.
00:46When we dive to the very bottom here, we stumble upon these peculiar potato-shaped mounds scattered
00:52across the ocean floor.
00:54These are officially called polymetallic modules.
00:57They might not look like much, but these little mounds are like hidden treasure chests.
01:02Over millions of years, metals dissolved in seawater slowly collect around tiny bits of
01:07shell or debris, forming these nodules.
01:11Inside them, you'll find valuable metals like manganese, nickel, copper, and cobalt.
01:17These elements are crucial for making batteries, like the ones that power your cell phone and
01:22electric vehicles.
01:25That's why the Clarion-Clipperton zone has become a hotspot for deep-sea mining.
01:30Today, 16 deep-sea mining contractors have permission to explore around 20% of its seafloor.
01:37This rush to the depths has made researchers curious to find out what's down there.
01:43So they've used some advanced machines to collect sediment from the seabottom.
01:47And then things got strange.
01:51The instruments started showing something impossible – massive amounts of oxygen produced
01:56on the seafloor, in complete total darkness.
02:00Now wait, that is not supposed to happen.
02:03You see, the deeper you go into the ocean, the less oxygen you find in the water.
02:08By the time you're about 3,000 feet down, there is barely any left.
02:13The water is too far from the surface for any atmospheric exchange.
02:17And to make matters worse, oxygen is constantly being used up by the deep-sea organisms that
02:22live there and by bacteria breaking down organic matter.
02:26So oxygen production this far down is supposed to be impossible.
02:33At first, researchers didn't believe their eyes.
02:36They thought the sensors were broken or faulty, because every study ever done in the deep
02:41sea has only shown oxygen being consumed, not produced.
02:46They kept seeing the same results repeatedly.
02:49For 10 years, this mysterious oxygen kept showing up.
02:53Finally, they realized the numbers might not be wrong.
02:59Turns out those metal nodules could be producing oxygen, working like batteries.
03:04When you drop a battery into seawater, you would see bubbles and hear fizzing, because
03:09the electric current splits seawater into oxygen and hydrogen in a process known as
03:14electrolysis.
03:15So the researchers' theory was that these nodules were doing the same thing, but in
03:20their natural state.
03:23And they were right.
03:24The nodules were, in fact, electrically charged, carrying about 0.95 volts.
03:30That's not enough to split seawater into hydrogen and oxygen.
03:34We would need about 1.5 volts for that, the power of a AA battery.
03:39But when these nodules cluster together, much higher voltages can be observed, enough to
03:44trigger the reaction and produce oxygen.
03:47So in a way, these nodules were generating electric currents strong enough to split molecules
03:52of seawater and produce oxygen, even in the complete absence of light.
04:00This discovery is fascinating because it completely flips our understanding of how oxygen can
04:05be produced.
04:06Up until now, we have always thought oxygen was produced by photosynthesis.
04:11You know, that process where plants and algae convert sunlight into energy and release oxygen.
04:17But in this pitch-black deep-sea environment, oxygen was being produced purely through electrolysis.
04:23No sunlight was needed.
04:25That's why people started calling it dark oxygen.
04:30This finding makes us rethink how life might've started on Earth more than 3 billion years
04:35ago.
04:36Think about it.
04:38Plants need oxygen to survive, but they're the ones that produce oxygen.
04:42So where did the first oxygen come from?
04:45This complex issue sounds a bit like a chicken-and-egg situation.
04:49But it might have an answer, now that we know oxygen can be made in ways that don't need
04:54sunlight or photosynthesis.
04:57It's possible there was another mysterious source of oxygen back then, which could have
05:01allowed oxygen-breathing lifeforms to exist even before photosynthesis became a thing.
05:09The dark oxygen doesn't just change our understanding of Earth's past.
05:14It also opens up new possibilities for life elsewhere in the universe.
05:18If this process is happening here on Earth, it might also be happening on other planets
05:23or moons.
05:24Take Saturn's moon Enceladus or Jupiter's moon Europa, for example.
05:29Both appear to have salty, liquid oceans hidden beneath thick layers of ice.
05:34Could dark oxygen be creating oxygen-rich environments in these oceans too?
05:41The implications go beyond our solar system.
05:44This discovery makes us rethink how we define potential habitats for life.
05:49As we explore exoplanets orbiting distant stars, understanding dark oxygen production
05:55could help us identify places where life might exist under conditions completely different
06:00from those on Earth.
06:02Instead of only looking for planets with sunlight, scientists might need to search for signs
06:06of chemical reactions that could support life even in complete darkness.
06:12This is all exciting news, but let's not forget how our story started with deep-sea mining.
06:18This is how this process usually works.
06:21Crews send down a remote-controlled underwater vehicle, like a tractor, to crawl along the
06:26ocean floor.
06:27This vehicle picks up the metallic nodules and sediment and pulls them through a pipe
06:32up to a ship on the surface.
06:34Once they have the nodules, the crew sends the leftover sediment back into the ocean
06:38at mid-depth.
06:40The sediment eventually settles back down to the ocean floor.
06:45So is deep-sea mining good or bad?
06:47It's hard to say.
06:49On one hand, we've found massive and exciting deposits of metals that are essential for
06:54creating new, clean technologies like solar panels and electric vehicles.
06:59With the demand for these critical materials skyrocketing, and it could grow by up to 600%
07:05in the coming decades, deep-sea mining could be a game-changer.
07:11Some studies even argue that this activity might be less harmful than traditional mining.
07:16Since it happens far out at sea, it might help us avoid destroying forests or polluting
07:21water supplies.
07:22Plus, because it's so hard to reach these minerals, it might be easier to monitor this
07:27activity, keeping things under control and regulating the process.
07:34On the other hand, there is this current fear that looking for valuable minerals in the
07:38ocean could disrupt the dark oxygen process.
07:42Those metal-rich nodules aren't just sitting there doing nothing.
07:45I mean, they're actively participating in the chemical processes that shape our planet.
07:51So they could be playing a key role in everything from nutrient cycles to the formation of new
07:57life.
07:58Scientists believe that mining could eventually damage marine life and seabed habitats that
08:03depend on dark oxygen.
08:06Despite its remote location and extreme conditions, the Clarion-Clipperton zone is home to a
08:12surprisingly diverse and mysterious range of deep-sea creatures, from ghostly white
08:17sea anemones and deep purple sea cucumbers to tiny marine isopods, the distant cousins
08:23of the pill bug.
08:25But we know little about what's down there.
08:27It's believed that 90% of the creatures that live in the deep waters of the Clarion-Clipperton
08:32zone are unknown to science.
08:35I mean, we do know about their existence, but they don't have an official name and
08:39the species can't be identified.
08:43Since the eerie creatures that live in pitch-black depths are still pretty much a mystery, it's
08:48hard to say if they or their environment would be really at risk if deep-sea mining continues
08:54at full speed.
08:55What experts do know is that we need more studies, more data, and more understanding.
09:03That's it for today!
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