Roughly 4,000 meters beneath the surface of the Pacific, inside a secluded region dubbed the Clarion–Clipperton Zone, a quiet but astonishing operation is taking place. Metal-rich formations known as polymetallic nodules — resembling blackened marbles spread across the seafloor — are creating oxygen in utter darkness.
Until recently, this phenomena was unimaginable. We thought that photosynthesis, which occurs in the presence of sunshine, leaves, and plankton, was the source of oxygen. These nodules, however, contradict that story. Acting like microscopic geobatteries, they exploit natural electrical gradients to divide saltwater into hydrogen and oxygen. No chlorophyll, no daylight, no bacteria involved.
| Subject | Details |
|---|---|
| Location of Focus | Clarion–Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean |
| Key Phenomenon | “Dark oxygen” created by polymetallic nodules, without sunlight |
| Mining Targets | Cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese — vital for battery and clean-energy technologies |
| Core Environmental Risks | Habitat loss, sediment plumes, carbon release, oxygen disruption, biodiversity destruction |
| Current Industry Status | 31 exploration licenses issued; commercial push underway in U.S. and Pacific nations |
| International Concern | More than 950 scientists and 40+ countries calling for a moratorium or total ban |
| Discovery Impact | Potentially transforms our understanding of deep-sea ecosystems and oxygen generation |
| Reference | Nature, July 2025: “Evidence of dark oxygen production at the abyssal seafloor” |
This process, now nicknamed “dark oxygen,” is not simply biologically fascinating. It’s geochemically active and, surprisingly, life-sustaining. The ecosystems that surround these nodules are silently flourishing, far beyond the reach of most research vessels and far away from human sight.
And yet, this very zone — home to an environment we hardly comprehend — is at the focus of a current gold rush.
By using regulatory gaps and climatic urgency, mining businesses backed by powerful nations have advanced ambitions to extract metals from the ocean floor. The nodules, rich in cobalt, nickel, and manganese, are considered as a vital answer for electrifying vehicles and decarbonizing power systems. From battery makers to green tech developers, demand is increasing.
The industry’s case is simple. They assert that harvesting these nodules is remarkably effective. Unlike terrestrial mining, no forests are cleared, no mountaintops are removed. There are no acid tailings or cyanide lakes. Just a ship above and a crawler below, collecting clean ore from an empty seafloor.
But that argument has been progressively disputed — and now, it feels particularly false.
Beneath the surface, those nodules aren’t just geological oddities. They anchor vast biological networks. Coral-like filter feeders, ancient bacteria, tiny crustaceans — many of them endemic — make these structures their home. destroying the nodules is, in effect, destroying the environment. And for species that reproduce slowly or live only in isolated regions, this can imply extinction.
The devastation doesn’t end there.
During mining, sediment plumes are churned up – enormous underwater dust clouds that can float for miles. These clouds contain fine particles, including hazardous metals. That poses a choking risk for filter feeders. For mobile species, it’s a navigational nightmare. For tuna and squid — which reside at the top of marine food chains — it’s a possible pollutant source.
In April, while reading a breakdown of these sediment dispersals, I found myself astonished by how calmly it forecast plume travel up to 1,000 kilometers. The distance wasn’t startling. What worried me was how nonchalantly irreversible destruction had become a calculated variable.
Scientists are also voicing worries about carbon.
The seabed is one of Earth’s most powerful carbon sinks. Organic stuff sinks downward, decomposes slowly, and gets stored in silt for millennia. Carbon emissions could result from disturbing that layer; these emissions would be tiny on their own but substantial when added together. It’s like kicking open a vault supposed to stay shut.
But possibly the most surprising implication is the potential interruption of oxygen generation.
Since the discovery of “dark oxygen,” researchers have began reconsidering the chemistry of deep-sea life. If these nodules serve a crucial role in sustaining oxygen in these pitch-black ecosystems, then mining them out of existence doesn’t only obliterate structure. It erases atmosphere – local, yes, but necessary nonetheless.
And the reality is, we don’t really grasp what we’re touching.
Over the past two decades, researchers have identified over 5,000 new species in the deep ocean, with an estimated 60% of deep-sea DNA sequences still unclassified. These reflect entire lineages and systems; they are not peripheral details. Even the biological carbon pump, which traps carbon in ocean sediments, involves some of them.
The nodules may be maintaining such processes.
At this point, mining is in its early stages. No commercial-scale activities have yet taken place. But the framework has been laid. The United States, China, and other Pacific governments are aggressively exploring and leasing zones. Regulatory authorities, such as the International Seabed Authority, have given 31 exploration licenses – 19 in this particular region alone.
There is growing pressure to mine. The race is underway.
However, the emerging worldwide opposition is quite positive. More than 950 scientists from over 70 countries have signed a unified demand for a pause. Institutions like Apple and Google, odd environmental friends, have raised alarm. Entire territories — notably American Samoa and California — have declared bans or moratoria.
This pushback isn’t anti-innovation.
It’s a call to innovate responsibly.
By shifting investment into recycling metals from existing waste, by finding alternative materials, and by improving battery efficiency, we can considerably lessen the need to disturb the seafloor. These answers are not theoretical – they’re active, viable, and exceptionally innovative.
Through smart alliances between scientists, policymakers, and industry, there is still time to turn this discourse toward preservation. The extractive errors of the past do not have to be repeated. What we are discovering beneath the water is not a hindrance to progress. It is an invitation to think further.
So let’s take a moment before deploying robotic crawlers to remove nodules from pavement like pennies.
Let’s acknowledge that the ocean floor is not empty.
It is living. literally breathing in ways that we are only now starting to comprehend.
