The boundary zone between Earth’s molten metal core and the mantle, its rocky middle layer, might be a diamond factory.
A new laboratory experiment finds that, under extreme temperatures and pressures, the combination of iron, carbon and water — all potential ingredients found at the core-mantle boundary — can form diamond. If this process also happens deep inside Earth, it might explain some weird quirks of the mantle, including why it has more carbon in it than scientists expect.
The findings also might help to explain strange structures deep in the core-mantle boundary where waves from earthquakes slow down dramatically. These regions, known as “ultra low velocity zones” are associated with strange mantle structures, including two giant blobs under Africa and the Pacific Ocean; they can be just a few miles across or many hundred. No one knows exactly what they are. Some scientists think they date back 4.5 billion years and are made of materials from the very ancient Earth. But the new research suggests that some of these zones may owe their existence to plate tectonics, which likely started well after Earth’s formation, perhaps 3 billion years ago.
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