At https://phys.org/news/2025-03-team-dark-oxygen-seafloor.html … this caught my eye in the opening paragraph. Children always ask ‘why?’ as they experience things, or come across something new to them. Or, a lot of them do. However, adults often dismiss something new that challenges their experience and understanding. Or what they have been taught in education establishments.
That is very true of some scientists. New ideas may seem like an afront to them, contradicting what they have learned, or have generally accepted. This is of course a throwaway line by the author of the study in question. It goes back to 2013 when the scientist, in this instance, was conducting experiments on the sea floor. The idea was to try and understand the carbon cycle – and the role of the ocean in sequestering co2. They got more than they bargained for it would seem as going down 4000 metres they encountered bubbles rising out of the sediment on the sea floor. Later, in 2015, they set out to try and understand where the bubbles came from. It was found it was oxygen. Dark oxygen, as it is not supposed to be on the sea floor. Unless of course oxygen can seep out of the Earth itself. This discovery may be a game changer. Where it leaves the carbon cycle is something else. Recommeded reading.