Super-deep Diamond Contains Earth’s Mineral Never Seen Before

It is true that the history of the planet Earth has been only recorded partially. Throughout the decades countless of findings have been made that has pointed towards many different histories. And the discoveries have surprised the science enthusiasts much like a recent sight of a mineral trapped within a diamond that is offering some significant evidences. You read that right! A never-before-seen mineral has been discovered hiding in a ‘super deep’ diamond formed in the Earth’s mantle. It is called calcium silicate perovskite and is believed to be the planet’s fourth most abundant mineral. Researchers found the trapped mineral in a diamond from South Africa’s Cullinan Mine that has produced some of the expensive diamonds in the world and it included two of the largest ones in the British Crown Jewels.

The study was published online in the British scientific journal Nature on March 7, 2018. The researchers revealed that the diamond provides “fundamental proof” of the long-theorized idea that slabs of oceanic crust that sink deep within Earth are recycled in the lower mantle. Graham Pearson, a professor at the University of Alberta and co-author of the study said, “We actually had no idea we would find it.” The diamond containing calcium silicate perovskite was found less than a mile beneath the surface, but Pearson says it would have originated at depth more than 400 miles and at that depth it can resist the pressure of 240,000 Earth’s atmosphere.

Graham Pearson was quoted in an American online magazine Inverse saying, “This was very special because this mineral had been theoretically predicted, but it was not thought possible to see it preserved at the Earth’s surface for observation and measurement.”

The diamonds of Cullinan Mine are considered to be the world’s most commercially as well scientific valuable. Diamonds in general provide access to the deepest intact material from the Earth’s interior with the help of the minerals that contained within their volumes. The researchers will further analyse this newly found mineral to learn more about its age and origin.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2018 05:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).