The deep sea continues to reveal extraordinary secrets. Here are two recent stories that show how little we know about Earth.

A Deep Sea Deeper Than Anyone Knew

Until now, we thought the deepest part of the ocean was the Mariana Trench, reaching 10,935 meters (35,875 feet) deep. That’s about 6.79 miles or 10.93 kilometers. But as it turns out, that’s relatively shallow if you consider an enormous hidden ocean.

Scientists have learned more about a hidden ocean 400 miles beneath Earth’s mantle. Only this ocean is unlike any we have known. According to new research, it’s largely trapped inside the crystal structure of what has been considered a “rare,” sometimes bluish, mineral called ringwoodite.

If the science is correct, this mineral can’t be rare at all. Because the researchers suspect this hidden ocean trapped in crystal holds a volume of water equal to the volume of all the world’s surface oceans combined.

There’s so much water that scientists believe it’s influencing the entire Earth in many ways, from tectonic plate movement to earthquakes and volcanoes.

“Scientists have been looking for this missing deep water for decades.” This finding suggests a continuous water cycle not just on the surface but through the entire Earth,” reported MSN.

For those interested in the metaphysical aspect, it’s compelling to think about. Just imagine that beneath our feet is an enormous moving crystal holding oceans of water!

Video by BRIGHT SIDE about the Sixth Ocean:

More Deep Sea Secrets Revealed

Here’s another story revealing something few people may know about the ocean seafloor. And yet, what’s happening there in the darkness could have been fundamental for all life on Earth. Today, mining operations in the deep oceans could have possibly far-reaching consequences.

For some fascinating context, it goes back to a clandestine CIA operation called Project Azorian. Outwardly, the operation presented itself as a mining operation, a story bought by the media. However, the real mission was quietly recovering a missile-carrying Soviet submarine, K-129, lost in the spring of 1968.

A Fake Effort to Mine the Deep Sea

To recover the sub and its ballistic missiles, the secret operation called for a massive $350 million-dollar ship. Dubbed the Hughes Glomer (for Global Marine) Explorer, its name was for multibillionaire Howard Hughes, once considered the “Elon Musk of his day” to historian Jim Lewis. (Of course, that comparison might be considered tarnished in light of recent events.)

As told by the media of its day, the ship was part of a privately owned corporate venture to mine the seafloor in an area known as the Clarion Clipperton Zone or CCZ in the Pacific Ocean. It’s located between Hawaii and Mexico and is larger than the country of India.

Conveniently, oceanographers had long known there were countless metallic nodules scattered across the seabed.

Six years after the sub sank, in August 1974, the crew began working to retrieve the sub some 17,000 feet down. In secret, Naval engineers had brought along a giant recovery claw called Clementine to grab and pull up the sub.

Project Azorian Goes Public

Briefly, on the first try, two of Clementine’s fingers broke off. But they managed to bring up part of the sub along with some metallic nodules, supporting the cover of a mining expedition. Then, as they planned to make another attempt dubbed Operation Matador, the real purpose of the operation was exposed.

A month earlier, in June, Hughe’s Burbank office was burglarized. Among the stolen items were documents revealing Project Azorian, which someone then leaked to the media. Soon, everyone in the world knew about it. In response, the CIA responded with “We can neither confirm nor deny” to the public.

Video by Plainly Difficult about Project Azorian:

Deep Sea Geo-batteries Create ‘Dark Oxygen’

Although once merely used for cover by the CIA, it turns out those potato-sized metallic rocks called polymetallic nodules are amazing in their own right. In effect, they may function like natural batteries, or “geo-batteries,” conducting weak electric fields (about 1 volt each) through the seawater.

And these nodules are quietly doing something through natural processes. In 2022, marine biologist Andrew Sweetman and fellow researchers discovered the rocks split water molecules into hydrogen and “dark oxygen.” Through a process of seawater electrolysis, the rock’s electricity pulls electrons out of water’s oxygen atoms.

Looking back to the ancient past, these nodules may well have played a role in helping make the world suitable for life. Could they be doing the same in other worlds? If so, lifeforms depending on dark oxygen could be something for NASA to search for in distant galaxies.

Whereas life we know centers around plants and photosynthesis, alien worlds might center around metabolizing electricity in the dark instead. As such, they may be unrecognizable to us. However, we can get some idea by observing what lives in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.

In 2023, a survey of life there revealed a whole new bizarre and diverse ecosystem rivaling the rainforests. Potentially, many thousands of species new to science have yet to be discovered. Some of the microbes called electrotrophs survive by harnessing electricity produced by the rock nodules. In effect, they’re eating electrons.

Video by Dr. Ben Miles about the Dark Oxygen:

Real Mining Efforts Disrupt the Deep Seas

Meanwhile, deep-sea miners are actively harvesting and destroying the nodules in the deep seas right now. Instead of a covert operation, they just want minerals like nickel, copper, lithium, manganese, and cobalt.

Ironically, we need these minerals for renewable energy like electric cars. Yet these rocks took millions of years to develop. At a growth rate of a few millimeters per million years, mining them is definitely not renewable. Instead, widespread mining upsets delicate ecosystems which we have yet to even explore.

Before we even have a chance to know what’s there, corporate operations could bury it all in the sand. And nobody knows what could happen as a result, although previous mining operations show lasting damage to biodiversity, half a century later.

Video about the nodules and dark oxygen by The Why Files:

Featured Image: screenshot via YouTube/Dr Ben Miles