Posted on May 20, 2021
Newsday - Scientists study bubbles inside diamonds to discover when they were formed - BBC Sounds...
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Imagine looking at something that was created deep in the earth billions of years ago. Well that's what we're doing when we look at diamonds. The rocks are a product of massive physical forces deep within the earth's past. And now researchers have been able to look at little bubbles within diamonds to get a glimpse of what was happening at the moment of their formation.
Professor Steven Goldstein is with the department of earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University in New York City. He told Newsday: “Diamonds are formed by the circulation of fluids in the deep earth. Every natural diamond that we see was formed 150 kilometres or more below the surface. The bubbles capture the fluid that formed the diamond. These bubbles … have all kinds of different elements in them including uranium. We can use the decayed product which is helium to figure out how old the diamonds are.”
Professor Steven Goldstein is with the department of earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University in New York City. He told Newsday: “Diamonds are formed by the circulation of fluids in the deep earth. Every natural diamond that we see was formed 150 kilometres or more below the surface. The bubbles capture the fluid that formed the diamond. These bubbles … have all kinds of different elements in them including uranium. We can use the decayed product which is helium to figure out how old the diamonds are.”
Newsday - Scientists study bubbles inside diamonds to discover when they were formed - BBC Sounds...
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Posted >1 y ago
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Interesting! Thanks for posting, PO1 William "Chip" Nagel. I didn't know about the fluid part of the process that creates the xenocrysts (embedded diamonds).
Most diamonds are found in Kimberlite Pipes which are a specific composition of minerals and a unique type of eruption. They are also only created within a specific range and combination of temperature and pressure. It looks like when the kimberlite pipes finally do reach the surface, that it could be due to excessive CO2 which contributes to the rapid, violent eruption of the pipe at surface.
"The consensus on kimberlites is that they are formed deep within the mantle. Formation occurs at depths between 150 and 450 kilometres (93 and 280 mi), potentially from anomalously enriched exotic mantle compositions, and they are erupted rapidly and violently, often with considerable carbon dioxide[3] and other volatile components. It is this depth of melting and generation that makes kimberlites prone to hosting diamond xenocrysts."
Most diamonds are found in Kimberlite Pipes which are a specific composition of minerals and a unique type of eruption. They are also only created within a specific range and combination of temperature and pressure. It looks like when the kimberlite pipes finally do reach the surface, that it could be due to excessive CO2 which contributes to the rapid, violent eruption of the pipe at surface.
"The consensus on kimberlites is that they are formed deep within the mantle. Formation occurs at depths between 150 and 450 kilometres (93 and 280 mi), potentially from anomalously enriched exotic mantle compositions, and they are erupted rapidly and violently, often with considerable carbon dioxide[3] and other volatile components. It is this depth of melting and generation that makes kimberlites prone to hosting diamond xenocrysts."
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