Nippon Foundation to Study “Dark Oxygen” with Scottish Institute

London, Jan. 18 (Jiji Press)--Japan’s Nippon Foundation said Saturday that it will work with the Scottish Association for Marine Science for conducting a study on “dark oxygen,” which can be produced on the deep ocean floor, where sunlight cannot penetrate.

A total of 2 million pounds will be spent over three years for the research project.

A team including SAMS professor Andrew Sweetman confirmed the existence of dark oxygen in the deep ocean floor in the Pacific last summer. It is highly likely that dark oxygen is produced from manganese nodules, which contain metals such as manganese and cobalt, according to the team.

The discovery is attracting attention worldwide as it challenges the conventional scientific consensus that oxygen is produced solely from light through photosynthesis.

Under the project, an experimental device will be developed to measure the concentrations of oxygen and hydrogen at depths of 11,000 meters or more in the ocean. Through the research, the Nippon Foundation and SAMS hope to identify the source of dark oxygen and analyze its impact on the ecosystem of the ocean floor.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]