Scientists Bring Oxygen Back to Suffocating Waters

"Already while the pumps were working we could see how some oxygen requiring bacteria returned into the deeper water of the fjord and some that don't like oxygen disappeared," Forth explained.

This was good news because past research has indicated that many microbes that thrive in anoxic conditions may actually be contributing to greenhouse gas production.

And while this may seem a little like the researchers are tampering with natural processes, they found that the fjord actually "wants" to maintain oxygen balance between all its layers.

"It seems that the fjord only needs help from time to time to restore the oxygen levels and then can maintain them for a longer period of time on its own," the team explained.

Forth and Treusch added that if fishing industries wish to see oxygen-breathing life return to the Baltic Sea, a similar strategy could be employed.

"Communities in the Baltic Sea are very similar to those in Byfjord before the fjord was aerated. So it is fair to imagine that the same change in the bacterial community will take place in the Baltic Sea if we start to pump oxygen-rich water down to the bottom waters of the Baltic Sea. This is an idea our Swedish colleagues are investigating further," they said.

Still, it remains to be seen what this could mean for ecologies as a whole, as some ecosystems may have already learned to adapt or even prosper near suffocating waters. This is why the researchers are treading very carefully as they explore this new and novel strategy for breathing life back into a sea.

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