But the deep-sea mining industry — which is keen to extract precious metals from these potato-sized polymetallic nodules — and some researchers have expressed doubts about the claim. Photo: AFPSo British marine ecologist Andrew Sweetman, who led the 2024 research that revealed the possible existence of dark oxygen, is planning a new underwater expedition in the coming months. The debate comes as companies and nations battle over proposed rules regulating the new and potentially environmentally destructive deep-sea mining industry. Sweetman’s 2024 study was partly funded by a Canadian deep-sea mining firm, The Metals Company, which has since sharply criticized his research. “We’ll be able to confirm dark oxygen production within 24 to 48 hours after the landers come up,” he said.

Source: Taipei Times January 22, 2026 16:15 UTC