"I know that I know nothing" - this philosophical reflection serves well to describe deep-sea research nearly 2,500 years after Socrates. This largely unexplored habitat accounts for 90% of the oceans and thus almost two-thirds of the Earth's surface. Only 5% of the deep sea has been explored, and barely one-fifth has been mapped. The rest literally remains in the dark, subjected to tremendous pressure and freezing temperatures, which complicates matters further.
One would therefore not expect what has now been demonstrated in a deep-sea study: oxygen is being produced in the deepest depths of the oceans.
The groundbreaking research conducted by an international team led by Andrew Sweetman of the Scottish Association for Marine Science has demonstrated this phenomenon in the manganese nodule fields of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Within two days, the oxygen concentration on manganese nodules increased threefold relative to the surroundings, which researchers initially assumed was a measurement error. However, the results confirm that chemical processes enable manganese nodules to generate sufficient energy to split seawater into its components via electrolysis, separating oxygen from H2O. The deep sea was rarely considered a source of oxygen. Textbooks on the origin of life may now need to be reconsider for this reason.
Considering how vital oxygen is for all life on Earth (including human life), this study further demonstrates that preserving the deep-sea habitat is of essential importance. Furthermore, given our lack of knowledge regarding conditions, processes, and consequences in these environments, a safety margin must be maintained against all potentially harmful influences - we cannot yet foresee the consequences of our interventions in the deep sea.
Yet, in this very region of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, international claims have already been staked for the mining of these manganese nodules to produce rare earths, and planning for "systemic deep-sea mining" is underway in many countries. Research will not advance fundamentally in the short term - meaning we operate blindly to the consequences of our actions. Once again.
Consequently, there can only be one stance: the deep sea must remain untouched.
