A Hunt for Dark Oxygen
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge. ~ Psalm 19:1-2
Imagine metallic rocks, resting miles below the ocean’s surface in complete darkness, somehow producing oxygen that is essential for life. Scientists are calling these rocks a "scientific bombshell" as they challenge long-held beliefs about where and how oxygen can exist.
Found 13,100 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean's Clarion-Clipperton Zone, the rocks are rich in metals and appear to generate oxygen through a natural process similar to electrolysis, splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen. This natural phenomenon challenges our long-held belief that oxygen can only be made from sunlight through photosynthesis, and this newly discovered "dark oxygen" could reshape our understanding of life on Earth.
Dr. Andrew Sweetman, a scientist and professor at the UK's Scottish Association for Marine Science, is leading a three-year study to explore how widespread this process is and the mechanisms behind it. His research involves deploying advanced technology to the ocean’s depths, supported by a $2.7 million grant that was announced this past week.
“Our discovery of dark oxygen was a paradigm shift in our understanding of the deep sea and potentially life on Earth, but it threw up more questions than answers,” said Sweetman, who is the leader of his institution’s seafloor ecology and biogeochemistry group. “This new research will enable us to probe some of these scientific questions.”
As scientists are realizing that dark oxygen production is likely a wider phenomenon that has been overlooked, they are exploring how microbes found in similar light-deprived environments produce oxygen. A microbiologist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts detected oxygen in freshwater samples in Alberta hundreds of meters beneath the Canadian prairie, for example, and in some cases, scientists are realizing that dark oxygen has been isolated from the atmosphere aboveground for more than 40,000 years. These discoveries are also providing insights into life in other unexpected places, including a NASA study of how dark oxygen might occur under the icy crusts of moons like Europa and Enceladus.
“Nature keeps surprising us,” microbiologist Emil Ruff said. “There are so many things that people have said, ‘Oh, this is impossible,’ and then later it turns out it’s not.”
This "dark oxygen" discovery challenges us to embrace awe and curiosity as we reflect on the vastness of God’s creation. What responsibility do we carry as stewards of His world? And, more immediately, how will you step into the days ahead with an openness to the grandeur of God's creation around you -- both seen and unseen?