A million billion tons of diamonds can be filled underground

The new study, published in the June issue of Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, estimates that the number of diamonds below the Earth's surface is 1,000 times more than previously predicted, according to Live Science. But these diamonds are located in an inaccessible depth, from 145 to 240 km, at the base of the craton, located at the bottom of the tectonic plate and hardly moving since ancient times.

The team from many universities around the world discovered diamond reserves when considering seismic waves below the Earth. Because vibrations can vary, depending on the composition, temperature and density of the different rocks that the wave hits, researchers can use the data to build an inner layer image that cannot be Earth's approach.

The number of diamonds underground is 1,000 times larger than previously anticipated.(Photo: Live Science).

They found that vibrations generated by natural processes such as earthquakes and tsunamis tend to accelerate when passing through the base of the ancient base . The large acceleration is unexpected because the base layer is usually colder and not as thick as the surrounding structure.

Using the seismic record kept by government agencies such as the US Geological Survey, the team created a three-dimensional model of seismic wave velocity when passing the ancient base under the heart. land. Then, they built virtual rocks from a combination of various minerals and calculated how fast the seismic waves moved through those rock components.

The team found the most plausible explanation for the underground recording speed far surpassing the prediction from the virtual model is 1-2% of the original base of the diamond base, while the rest is made up of peridotite (the main rock in the upper mantle of the Earth) and a very small part of eclogite (in the ocean's crust).

"When seismic waves go through the Earth, diamonds transmit them faster than other hard rock or minerals , " said Joshua Garber, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara, the research leader. said. "Although we recognize that diamonds are the most reasonable answer, we cannot be sure." According to Garber, it is very difficult to sample directly in these areas, though sometimes the material in the ancient base layer is erupted onto the surface by magma.