Thiomargarita namibiensis is a type of bacteria that assists in hydrogen sulfide eruptions near Africa. Thiomargarita namibiensis lives in a place called the Benguela Dwelling, which has high concentrations of phytoplankton. Because of the phytoplankton, the thiomargarita namibiensis absorb and digest organic matter under conditions with very little to no oxygen. The expulsion of organic matter provides the surrounding sediment with hydrogen sulfide, which is then released once the pressure is great enough.
Helping to fill the Earth with precious oxygen is the cyanobacteria, a very ancient form of bacteria. Scientists know that cyanobacteria produces oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis occurs when an organism, most commonly green plants, takes in sunlight and expels oxygen into the atmosphere. It is believed that cyanobacteria expelled oxygen during a time when the Earth was first beginning to thrive. By the production of this oxygen, living beings, including plants, animals, and humans, were able to survive in an otherwise uninhabitable atmosphere.
Archaea, discovered in 1970, is a form of bacteria relatively new to science. Archaea are believed to be covering vast amounts of the ocean floor, as much as 50 percent. Archaea are found in extreme environments like hydrothermal vents, which expel heat gases into the ocean's water. One form of Archaea is known to thrive from methane gas. Methane exists in the depth of the Earth's crust and is theorized to be a contributor to global warming. If archaea bacteria increase in the ocean, methane and the other various gases trapped inside rocks and the sandy floor may alter the chemistry of ocean life.
