Metallic nodules scattered across the seabed in the Indian and Pacific oceans are a source of oxygen for nearby marine life – a finding that could upend our understanding of the deep ocean.

Researchers say the polymetallic nodules that mining companies hope to harvest from the deep-ocean seafloor may be a source of oxygen for the ... the future of deep-sea mining.

but the rocks also often serve as the only anchoring point for many delicate deep-sea creatures. Now a new study suggests the nodules are able to produce oxygen about 4,000 m below the ocean’s ...

The polymetallic nodules that mining companies hope to harvest from the deep-ocean seafloor may be a source of oxygen for the animals, plants and bacteria that live there.

The results also raise new concerns about potentially mining polymetallic nodules, which could represent a vital source of oxygen for deep-sea ecosystems, Sweetman said. "Through this discovery ...

"We need to rethink how to mine these materials, so that we do not deplete the oxygen source for deep-sea life," noted study co-author Franz Geiger, a Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University ...

This unexpected source of “dark oxygen,” as it’s called ... such a moratorium is so important for protecting these deep-sea nodules in a comment to the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition ...

This discovery that the nodules may be a source of oxygen for the deep sea has major implications in terms of how life on our planet may have begun. "For aerobic life to begin on the planet ...

Sea-floor nodules raise oxygen levels in the deep ocean, suggesting they may have a valuable role in ecosystems and adding to concerns about the impact of deep-sea mining By Madeleine Cuff 22 July ...

New research suggests that polymetallic nodules on the deep-sea floor may produce oxygen, a conclusion that could have enormous consequences for mining companies. Above, Gerard Barron, chairman ...