Nature published a geoscience paper this week explaining “dark oxygen,” or the process by which polymetallic nodules (small rocks laden with rare-earths at the bottom of the sea) produce oxygen. Usually, photosynthesis produces oxygen, and photosynthesis requires light. But 4,000 meters under the sea, these mineral-rich rocks can produce oxygen in complete darkness using electrochemical activity.

From the Washington Post:

This hypothesis would add a layer to our understanding of how organisms came to exist under the sea, said Hahn, who focused specifically on the sensors used in the study experiments. “We thought that life began on Earth when photosynthesis kicked in, as oxygen was brought to Earth through photosynthesis. It could be that actually, this process of electrochemically dividing water into oxygen and hydrogen supplied oxygen to the ocean,” he said.

“This could be a kind of game changer in the story about how life started,” he added.

A news release about the study said its findings challenge “long-held assumptions that only photosynthetic organisms, such as plants and algae, generate Earth’s oxygen.”

How cool is that?

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) convenes in Jamaica this month to discuss the regulatory apparatus that should accompany deep-sea mining. Several countries have issued moratoria on deep-sea mining and so far, the ISA has given exploratory permits to 22 contractors (China has five contracts, the U.S. has zero — some politicians want the U.S. to be more aggressively scouting out deep-sea mining opportunities in order to compete with China). Most of those permits are for the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone in the Pacific Ocean, the same place scientists first discovered this “dark oxygen” business. Some countries are now ready to apply for licenses to actually begin mining in the deep sea.

Little is known about the scientific implications of deep-sea mining but countries have urged the ISA to limit mining operations until the scientific community knows more. One of the recent study’s co-authors, Northwestern’s Dr. Franz M. Geiger, said of the discovery that: “This puts a major asterisk onto strategies for sea-floor mining as ocean-floor faunal diversity in nodule-rich areas is higher than in the most diverse tropical rainforests.” Other factors are worth considering, such as that American adversaries care a lot less about the environmental impact of deep-sea mining than we do, giving them an advantage in the rare-earth market, an advantage they already retain on land.

There’s a case for despair when it comes to environmental regulation, and what it might mean for U.S. minerals in the future, but reading about this sort-of “evil photosynthesis” scientists have discovered, is quite incredible.