A group of scientists recently discovered for the first time a mineral in diamonds collected from deep in the earth.

The East Africa News Post reported that the discovery was a "rare glimpse" of the depths of the mantle and may help reveal new information about the structure of the earth at a depth of more than 660 kilometers.

It can help geologists better understand the way the mantle controls the tectonics of the earth's plates.

The discovered mineral perovskite silicate perovskite formed only under extremely high pressure deep in the earth.

Also read: Ashes into Diamonds-The Science Behind Synthetic Diamonds

According to Oliver Tschauner, a mineralogist at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, the newly discovered sample may have formed 660 to 900 kilometers below the earth's surface.

Although this mineral was previously synthesized in a laboratory using a pressure equivalent to 20 gigapascals, which is nearly 200,000 times the atmospheric pressure, when it was taken out of an artificial high-pressure environment, it immediately changed back to another form.

Therefore, the researchers suggested that it is impossible to extract the naturally occurring perovskite silicate perovskite from the mantle.

"Scientific American" said in a similar report that Tsachauner explained that they believe that the probability of finding that they have never really actively sought out is very low.

Therefore, when Tsachaunder and his colleagues were studying defects in diamonds from Olapa, Botswana, they found three "tiny spots of perovskite silicate", which is surprising.

Calcium silicate is found in other forms, including wollastonite in the earth's crust and braestone in the center and lower areas of the mantle.

Nevertheless, this version has a significant cubic crystal structure, which shows that it is different from the minerals of the above version.

The team’s colleagues call this new mineral “davemaoite”, named after geologist Ho-Kwang “Dave” Mao, who is using diamonds as a press to conduct some groundbreaking research The surface generates pressure similar to the mantle through experiments. They announced their findings in the journal Science. 

Since the crust and the rocks in the mantle are connected, geoscientists can obtain the correct concept of the earth's mantle structure based on the substances present in the crust.

Specifically, tectonic movement causes rocks and minerals to move up and down between formations over millions of years.

In addition, minerals deform and change when they leave the hot and high temperatures of the mantle.

Diamonds are the only direct window into the area because they will not deform. They form at least 150 kilometers below the surface, and some originate at a depth of 1,000 kilometers.

The crystal structure of diamonds is made up of 100% carbon, although they often collect tiny parts of the surrounding environment when they are formed, as described in a similar NewScientist report.

In addition, because diamonds are extremely hard, even when diamonds rise to the crust and are pulled by miners, they can seal these tiny inclusions under very high pressure.

According to Oded Navon, a geologist who studies diamonds and the deep mantle but was not involved in the discovery and identification of Davymauite, this diamond will not let anything in or out. He added that this is a "perfect closed box."

A report on minerals found in diamonds is shown below the YouTube video of NezTech20:

Related article: Diamonds 2.7 billion years ago proved that life-giving elements appeared shortly after the formation of the earth

Check out more news and information about Diamond on the Science Times.

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