Recently Yahoo News on-in reported the following:
Oxygen discovery defies knowledge of the deep ocean (2/2)
BBC - Victoria Gill - Science correspondent
Updated Tue, July 23, 2024 at 6:21 a.m. PDT·4 min read
(continue)
The researchers put this theory to the test in the lab,
collecting and studying the potato-sized metal nodules. Their experiments
measured the voltages on the surface of each metallic lump - essentially the
strength of the electric current. They found it to be almost equal to the
voltage in a typical AA-sized battery.
This means, they say, that the nodules sitting on the seabed could generate electric currents large enough to split, or electrolyse, molecules of seawater.
The researchers think the same process - battery-powered oxygen production that requires no light and no biological process - could be happening on other moons and planets, creating oxygen-rich environments where life could thrive.
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone, where the discovery was made, is a site already being explored by a number of seabed mining companies, which are developing technology to collect the nodules and bring them to a ship at the surface.
More than 800 marine scientists from 44 countries have signed a petition highlighting the environmental risks and calling for a pause on mining activity.
New species are being discovered in the deep ocean all the time - it is often said that we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the deep sea. And this discovery suggests that the nodules themselves could be providing the oxygen to support life there.
Prof Murray Roberts, a marine biologist from the University of Edinburgh is one of the scientists who signed the seabed mining petition. “There’s already overwhelming evidence that strip mining deep-sea nodule fields will destroy ecosystems we barely understand,” he told BBC News.
“Because these fields cover such huge areas of our planet it would be crazy to press ahead with deep-sea mining knowing they may be a significant source of oxygen production.”
Prof Sweetman added: “I don't see this study as something that will put an end to mining.
“[But] we need to explore it in greater detail and we need to use this information and the data we gather in future if we are going to go into the deep ocean and mine it in the most environmentally friendly way possible.”
Translation
（繼續）
研究人員在實驗室中測試了這個理論，收集並研究了馬鈴薯大小的金屬小瘤。他們的實驗測量了每個金屬塊表面的電壓 - 本質上是電流的強度。發現它幾乎等於典型 AA 電池的電壓。
他們說，這意味著海底的小瘤可以產生足夠大的電流來分裂或電解海水的分子。
研究人員認為，同樣的過程 - 用電池供電生產氧氣，不需要光和生物過程 - 可能會發生在其他衛星和行星上，創造出生命可以繁衍生息的充足氧氣環境。
這項發現所在的 Clarion-Clipperton 區已經被許多海底採礦公司勘探過，這些公司正在開發技術去收集小瘤並將其運送到水面的船隻。
美國國家海洋和大氣管理局警告說，這種海底採礦可能「導致採礦區的生命和海底棲息地遭到破壞」。
來自 44 個國家的 800 多名海洋科學家簽署了一份請願書，強調環境風險並呼籲暫停採礦活動。
愛丁堡大學海洋生物學家 Murray Roberts 教授是簽署海底採礦請願書的科學家之一。他告訴英國廣播公司: 「已經有壓倒性的證據表明，在深海小瘤區進行露天採礦 (strip mining) 將破壞我們幾乎不了解的生態系統」。
“因為這些小瘤區覆蓋了地球上如此大的面積，所以在知道它們可能是氧氣生產的重要來源的情況下仍去繼續進行深海採礦將是瘋狂的。”
Sweetman 教授補充說：「我不認為這項研究會停止採礦行為」。
“[但是]我們需要更詳細地探索它如果我們預備進入深海, 並以盡可能最環保的方式開採它，我們需要使用收集得來的數據和信息來進行開採。”
So,
Scientists have discovered “dark oxygen” on seafloor.
Several mining companies plan to collect these
nodules, which marine scientists fear could disrupt marine life that depends on
the oxygen. Scientists have signed a petition
highlighting the environmental risks and calling for a pause on mining
activity. I hope mining company will be careful not to upset the environmental
balance at the sea bottom.
Note:
Strip mining is the practice of mining a seam of
mineral, by first removing a long strip of overlying soil and rock (the
overburden); this activity is also referred to as overburden removal. It is
most commonly used to mine coal and lignite (brown coal). Strip mining is only
practical when the ore body to be excavated is relatively near the surface.
(Wikipedia)
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