The irony of this discovery is not lacking in salt: these nodules, real little oxygen generators, are today the target of industrial covetousness. Mining giants are eyeing these deposits of rare metals, essential for the manufacture of batteries and our electronic devices. However, extracting these treasures could disrupt a natural mechanism whose importance we are only beginning to understand. Faced with this dilemma, several nations are calling for a moratorium on the exploitation of the seabed, fearing irreversible damage to abyssal ecosystems.
This discovery of black oxygen raises quite dizzying perspectives regarding our understanding of the origins of life. If photosynthesis remains the main provider of oxygen on Earth, these polymetallic nodules could have played an unsuspected role in the appearance of complex life. They may represent one of the missing pieces of the evolutionary puzzle, suggesting the existence of alternative mechanisms that allowed the production of oxygen on our beautiful planet.
Scientists are now faced with a new mystery: understanding the process of formation of these nodules over the millennia and what their real impact was on the development of marine life. The ocean depths clearly continue to surprise us!
Source : The Conversation
