Scientists have found samples Diamond rare originating from the bowels of the Earth that has never existed before is called davemaoite.
The discovery comes after leading geophysicist Ho-kwang (Dave) Mao discovered a never-before-seen sample of the diamond mineral using a special technique.
This diamond is the first example of perovskite calcium silicate (CaSiO3) found on Earth’s surface. The reason, this diamond can only be produced in high-pressure areas in the bowels of the Earth.
Another form of CaSiO3, known as wollastonite, is found throughout the world. But davemaoite is different, in that it has a special crystal structure that can only form under high pressure and high temperatures in the Earth’s core.
Davemaoite has long been thought to be the most abundant mineral and an important geochemical constituent of the Earth’s core. But scientists have never found direct evidence of the existence of this mineral because the diamond has broken down into other minerals as it travels from the core to the Earth’s surface.
However, analysis of diamonds from Botswana, which form in the mantle about 660 kilometers below the Earth’s surface, has revealed intact davemaoite samples trapped within.
As a result, the International Mineralogical Association has now confirmed davemaoite is a new mineral form.
“The discovery of davemaoite came as a surprise,” lead author Oliver Tschauner, a mineralogist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was quoted as saying. Live Science.
How to find devamaoite
Tschauner and team discovered davemaoite samples using the synchrotron X-ray diffraction technique, which focuses high-energy X-ray beams at specific points within the diamond with microscopic precision.
By measuring the angle and intensity of the light returning, researchers can decipher what’s inside.
Tschauner said the davemaoite samples in the diamonds were only a few micrometers across. So less robust sampling techniques will miss it.
Davemaoite is believed to play an important role in the Earth’s core. Scientists theorize that the mineral may also contain other elements, including uranium and thorium, which release heat through radioactive decay.
Therefore, according to Tschauner, davemaoite can help generate large amounts of heat in the mantle.
In a 2014 study published in the journal Science, researchers described another theoretical high-pressure mineral from the mantle, known as bridgmanite.
However, the bridgmanite samples did not come from the mantle but from inside meteorites.
The discovery of davemaoite suggests that diamonds could have formed further in the Earth’s core than previously thought.
This suggests that the Earth’s core may be the best place to look for more new minerals, according to the report Space.
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