The Truth About Diamonds

The mystery of how exactly diamonds form has baffled and stood out to many scientists for a long time. It is believed that diamonds form around 90 to 150 miles below Earth’s surface with the help of extraordinary heat and pressure. This takes place in the mantle. The mantle is in between the Earth’s crust and outer core. However, exactly how they form is the mystery. Some scientists believe that diamonds form from some type of liquid/fluid. What is this liquid? Well, when diamonds are formed, some are “impure” and some are “flawless”. (By impure, I mean they contain bits of rock and drops of fluid.) These “impure diamonds” are the diamonds that are considered “not commercially viable”. However, these are also the diamonds …show more content…
By finding when, where, and what the diamond was made of, these scientists suggested that around 150 million to 200 million years ago, “a slab of watery oceanic crust slipped down below North America”. According to Weiss,”This provides strong evidence tying ancient surface water with diamond formation at depths of 150 to 200 km (93 to 124 miles) below continents”. These scientists aren’t saying that diamonds form solely and directly from seawater, they are saying that fluids from the oceanic crust may have reacted with continental rocks and created the right environment at which diamonds could form. In conclusion, even though the question that all diamonds form using seawater is still up in the air, we are constantly learning more about diamond formation. According to Weiss,”If a direct connection between kimberlite eruptions and oceanic subduction can be demonstrated, then it might be wise to look for kimberlites along ancient subduction lines.” Also, as we continue to discover and learn about how these amazing, mysterious crystals form, we also begin to understand more about other concepts as well, like the carbon