Researchers now claim that diamonds are more common than previously thought where a new study suggests that deep within the Earth's interior lies a litter of diamonds in almost every region.
There are two processes in which diamonds are born, during the oxidation of methane and when carbon dioxide forms a chemical reduction within moving fluids. In these two kinds of formations, ideal conditions from geochemical processes are required which adds to the diamonds' rarity and value.
In this new study, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University are now suggesting that a simpler process and more common conditions can also result in diamond formations. The team utilized chemical models that presented diamonds to form when water becomes slowly acidic as it moves from one rock formation to another.
According to lead author of the study, geochemist Dimitri A. Sverjensky of the Johns Hopkins University, when people search more for diamonds, they will realize that they are finding them in different rock types and formations. This is a telltale sign that diamond formation can be observed in more different kinds of environments than ever before.
In this new diamond formation theory however, there are also some traditional requirements to generate diamonds such as intense pressure and extreme temperatures, some 1,650 to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit which can only be found deep within the planet's mantle. Sverjensky also adds that this new research cannot be a major game changer in the worldwide diamond market.
Traditionally, easily discovered diamonds are revealed during a volcanic eruption when magma forces the diamonds out of the deepest layers of the earth, emerging on the surface. This new study also suggests that even if there are plenty of diamonds down below the mantle, it does not necessarily mean they will all pop out soon, ready to be plucked out from rocks.
Researchers also say that these kinds of abundant diamonds are not the kind to be measured in carats but more in microns, so tiny, that it is invisible to the naked eye.
This new study is also crucial in the better understanding of fluid dynamics deep within the Earth, revealing secret processes of slow moving carbon cycle that is also the source of life on this planet.
These findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.