The Nippon Foundation 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 ¥382 million (£2 million) will be spent over three years on the research project, the foundation said Saturday.
A team led by SAMS professor Andrew Sweetman confirmed the existence of dark oxygen on 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.
Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa stressed the significance of the project at a news conference in London, saying that it is important not only to understand the mechanism of dark oxygen but also to know what is happening in the deep ocean in terms of considering human survival.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.