From time to time, the Earth gives clues about its nature, and from these small fragments we can gather some information about the interior of our planet. With the diamond found in Botswana recently it was no different. This rock has traces of minerals that suggest it was formed 660 km below the Earth's surface, revealing a water-rich environment.
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Unlike other recent records of gemstone encounters, which are typically found in ancient cracks in the crust marked by stiffness and dryness, the new discovery was formed in an environment rich in water.
diamond features
The formation of this stone has traces of ringwoodite (magnesium silicate), ferropericlase (oxide of magnesium/iron), enstatite (a magnesium silicate with a different composition) and other minerals that point moisture.
This was all found between Earth's upper and lower mantle (known as the 660 km discontinuity or transition area) by a team of researchers led by mineral physicist Tingting Gu, from the Gemological Institute of New York and the University Purdue.
The training environment had a lot of humidity
In addition, several of these inclusions had characteristics that indicated that they were naturally hydrated minerals, that is, that they form in the presence of water. On the other hand, some minerals found in diamond are also hydrous. These indications imply that the environment in which the diamond formed was very humid.
Most of the Earth's surface is covered by water, as you know. However, they make up only a small portion when taking into account the thousands of kilometers that separate the planet's surface from its core. Even at its deepest point, the ocean is only seven miles wide from the top of the waves to the bottom.
A possible explanation for this phenomenon
However, it's important to remember that the Earth's crust is cracked and fragmented, with separate tectonic plates grinding and sliding under each other's edges.
Thus, in these subduction zones, water penetrates deeper into the planet, reaching the lower mantle. Thus, this phenomenon can be justified in the original publication of the study (article in the scientific journal Nature) therefore.