ScienceAugust 16, 2026
anoxic
an-OK-sik
Definition
Relating to or characterized by a complete absence of oxygen.
Etymology
Derived from the Greek 'an-' (without) and 'oxus' (sharp/acid, used to refer to oxygen), this scientific term was formed in the 19th century to describe environments or conditions lacking oxygen.
In the news
The article uses the term to describe the deep waters of the Black Sea where the lack of oxygen prevents organisms from decaying wood, allowing ancient shipwrecks to remain perfectly preserved for millennia.
At the bottom of the Black Sea, below about 150 metres, the water contains no oxygen at all, and shipwrecks preserved in that dead zone include a 2,400-year-old Greek merchant vessel found in 2018 with its mast, rudder and rowing benches still intact on the
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