“Confirmed: Photosynthesis is not needed to make oxygen. Oxygen creates life, and for centuries we believed that life – specifically photosynthetic plants and algae – was the only thing that created oxygen. We thought the recipe required sunlight. But 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean, where no sunlight has ever penetrated, rocks are making it themselves. Researchers led by the Scottish Association for Marine Science have discovered "dark oxygen." While surveying the Clarion-Clipperton Zone – a vast abyssal plain between Hawaii and Mexico – sensors detected oxygen levels rising, not falling, in the absolute darkness. This was impossible according to known biology. The source turned out to be polymetallic nodules. These are potato-sized chunks of rock rich in cobalt, nickel, and manganese. The team discovered that these nodules are electrically charged. They act like natural "geobatteries." When these metallic rocks are clustered together…”

“Confirmed: Photosynthesis is not needed to make oxygen. Oxygen creates life, and for centuries we believed that life – specifically photosynthetic plants and algae – was the only thing that created oxygen. We thought the recipe required sunlight. But 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean, where no sunlight has ever penetrated, rocks are making it themselves. Researchers led by the Scottish Association for Marine Science have discovered "dark oxygen." While surveying the Clarion-Clipperton Zone – a vast abyssal plain between Hawaii and Mexico – sensors detected oxygen levels rising, not falling, in the absolute darkness. This was impossible according to known biology. The source turned out to be polymetallic nodules. These are potato-sized chunks of rock rich in cobalt, nickel, and manganese. The team discovered that these nodules are electrically charged. They act like natural "geobatteries." When these metallic rocks are clustered together…”