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The researchers found a surprisingly large treasure of diamonds deep inside the Earth. Through sound wave technology, researchers estimate that there is more than a quadrillion tons of diamonds hidden beneath the surface of the Earth, but they are found about 100 miles below. "This shows that the diamond may not be this exotic mineral, but on the (geological) scale of things, it is relatively common," said Ulrich Faul, a researcher at the University of California. New York University. MIT "We can not reach them, but there are many more diamonds than we had ever imagined before."
The researchers came to their conclusion after finding an anomaly in the seismic data. measurement of earthquakes, tsunamis, explosions and other events that shake the ground The seismic activity of underground sources is detected in the form of sound waves and these sound waves are moving at different speeds across the Earth depending on temperature, density and soil composition. On the basis of these data, researchers determine the types of rocks that make up the earth's crust and upper mantle, also known as the lithosphere.
Deep within the Earth's interior, researchers detect a strange anomaly that they could not explain. The area includes cratonic roots, the oldest and most immobile sections of rock that descend as deep as 200 miles across the earth's crust and into its mantle. Geologists refer to their deepest sections as "roots".
Researchers have found that sound waves tend to accelerate considerably when they pbad through the roots of ancient cratons. The cratons are generally cooler and less dense than the surrounding mantle, resulting in slightly faster sound waves, but they should not be as fast as measured.
To discover them, the researchers used seismic data rocks. Then they calculated how fast the sound waves would travel through each virtual rock. Only cratonic roots produced the same velocities as those measured by seismologists. The researchers estimate that cratonic roots can contain 1 to 2% of diamonds, at least 1000 times more diamonds than previously thought.
Diamonds are formed in the high pressure and high temperature environment of the deep Earth and near volcanic eruptions. occur every few tens of millions of years. This is the best explanation of why seismic data showed peaks of speed.
"It's circumstantial evidence, but we've pieced it all together," Faul said. "We have gone through all the different possibilities, from all angles, and it's the only one that remains a reasonable explanation."
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