This Rare Diamond May Have Revealed the Presence of an 'Ocean' Hidden Underground

In Botswana, the discovery of a diamond with a rare chemical composition fascinates scientists. The reason ? The gem could contain proof of the existence of an ocean hidden in the Earth's mantle.

Is the Earth's mantle home to a lot more water than previously thought? This is what a study published on September 26 in the journal Nature Geoscience suggests, reports the news site. LiveScience .

Crédit Photo : Nathan D. Renfro and Tingting Gu

An important discovery

You may not know it, but the Earth is made up of 70% water. However, there is also water in the upper mantle which corresponds to the layer on which the earth's crust floats, specifies the magazine Geo.

When the upper mantle transitions into the warmer, denser lower mantle, the scientists say, minerals could hold less water. Nevertheless, a study conducted by the Gemological Institute of America “New York” disputes this theory.

Indeed, researchers, including mineral physicist Tingting Gu, have analyzed a gemstone containing minerals and inclusions that would contain water present at the border between the two terrestrial coats, explains the information site.

These results suggest that water is present deeper under the surface of the planet. This important discovery provides new information on the deep water cycle, as well as plate tectonics.

Crédit Photo : Nathan D. Renfro and Tingting Gu

As LiveScience points out, the diamond Lab type comes from the Karowe mine in Botswana. Tingting Gu and his team used a laser to map the chemical composition.

Analyzes revealed that the diamond - which remains underground for a long time - harbored a mineral known as 'ringwoodite'. It lies between the upper and lower mantle, between 410 and 600 kilometers deep, and can contain “ much more water than other minerals like abridgmanite and ferropericlase “says Geo.