A layer of diamonds in the heart of the earth

A trip to the center of the earth, to discover something truly precious. And no, we are not talking about an abstract value, but about something concrete: near the heart of our planet, in fact, there will be Millions (if not billions) of diamondswhose value would be too high to be incalculable.

To support this thesis, there are several studies, one of which was recently published by a group of researchers from Arizona State University. Diamonds will (currently) be elusive in depth, but according to scientists, their existence is nothing short of certain, simply in terms of…chemistry.

Studying treasure at the center of the earth

A detailed study published in 2018 in the scientific journal Geochemistry, geophysics and geological systems The first, implemented by Arizona State University in recent weeks, examined “behaviour” Earth’s inner core. This particular part of our planet has for years been one of the obsessions of scientists who, due to very high temperatures, could not really get close.

However, thanks to the latest gadgets and brilliant minds they are dealing with Geology, geophysics and geochemistry It was possible to prove that one actually exists A mysterious layer near the center of the Earth. Exactly in this layer, which can be found from 145 to 240 kilometers below the Earth’s surface, near the “roots” of large fragments of rocks called cratons, diamonds, the properties of which correspond to the composition, temperature and density, will be some “material” that behaves in a certain way.

How was diamond discovered in the center of the earth?

What distinguishing characteristics are we talking about? Basically, scientists use seismic wave detectors to observe the center of the Earth. In the Earth’s core, these vibrations vary according to the rocks and materials affected, and return aVirtual image of the various central layers. Seismic waves tend to accelerate as they pass through the kraton, but at several points the acceleration was greater than expected.

Using different seismic wave recordings, the scientists recreated the velocity models by comparing them to different groups of minerals. For each group, they calculated the speed at which the wave’s vibrations passed and found that the best explanation for the acceleration already observed underground was consistent only with the corresponding group of diamonds.

How were diamonds formed?

But how could this precious diamond be formed? This is explained by the team led by researcher Byungkwan Koo of Arizona State University. In fact, the team’s study wanted to get to the certainty that it’s exactly these precious things. Do you check for certainty? No, because the sampling lane is always missing. However, researchers started from the fact that the Earth’s core is and remains the most Large carbon deposits on Earth: About 90% are buried there.

Moving on from this assumption, Koe and his team showed that oceanic crust that lies above tectonic plates can “slip,” thanks to a process called subduction. This crust contains hydrated minerals and the iron-carbon alloy in the core will react, provoke a chemical reaction That will make the diamond “born”. Fact or just guesswork? We’ll have to wait for new discoveries to find out.