This info has been reported in “science” websites, that require a subscription.
{. “I first saw this in 2013 - an enormous amount of oxygen being produced at the seafloor in complete darkness,” explains lead researcher Prof Andrew Sweetman from the Scottish Association for Marine Science. “I just ignored it, because I’d been taught - you only get oxygen through photosynthesis.
“Eventually, I realised that for years I’d been ignoring this potentially huge discovery,” he told BBC News. }
Countries and capitalists want to mine these deep sea metallic nodules.
{. the metal nodules are able to make oxygen precisely because they act like batteries.
“If you put a battery into seawater, it starts fizzing,” explained Prof Sweetman. “That’s because the electric current is actually splitting seawater into oxygen and hydrogen [which are the bubbles]. We think that’s happening with these nodules in their natural state.”
“It’s like a battery in a torch,” he added. “You put one battery in, it doesn’t light up. You put two in and you’ve got enough voltage to light up the torch. So when the nodules are sitting at the seafloor in contact with one another, they’re working in unison - like multiple batteries.” }
Fascinating stuff.
ralph
