Deep-seafloor organisms consume oxygen, which can be measured by in situ benthic chamber experiments. Here we report such experiments at the polymetallic nodule-covered abyssal seafloor in the Pacific Ocean in which oxygen increased over two days to more than three times the background concentration, which from ex situ incubations we attribute to the polymetallic nodules. Given high voltage potentials (up to 0.95 V) on nodule surfaces, we hypothesize that seawater electrolysis may contribute to this dark oxygen production.

中文翻译：

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深海海底产生暗氧的证据

深海底生物消耗氧气，这可以通过原位海底室实验进行测量。在这里，我们报告了在太平洋多金属结核覆盖的深海海底进行的此类实验，其中氧气在两天内增加到背景浓度的三倍以上，我们将其归因于多金属结核的异位孵化。鉴于结核表面的高电压电位（高达 0.95 V），我们假设海水电解可能有助于这种暗氧的产生。