Under the direction of academician Yu Wang, the study shone new light on radical changes to deep-earth carbon dynamics. These discoveries have deepened our knowledge of how carbon forms continents and diamonds. This research, published in Science Advances, sheds light on the interaction between carbonatite melts derived from subducted slabs and metallic iron-bearing mantle rocks. The experimental results reveal the ways in which these processes affect craton stability and diamond genesis.
The collaboration, which includes co-author Mingdi Gao, used a combination of theoretical modeling and high-pressure experimental studies to explore these deep-earth processes. They modeled the temperature and pressure at depths between 250 and 660 kilometers under the Earth’s surface. These experiments laid the groundwork for understanding physical and chemical processes involved with carbon movements in the mantle and their relation to geologic formations.
Insights from High-Pressure Experiments
Experimental results from the Orth research team clearly demonstrated that diverse mantle environments yield unique redox signatures. This find is extremely important for understanding the chemistry of high-pressure, high-temperature conditions occurring deep inside of Earth. To better understand what was happening, the team compared the mineral compositions produced in their experiments. They then matched these results against natural diamond inclusions extracted from cratons in Africa and South America.
Through examination of these sequences, the scientists were able to draw understanding on how slab carbonatite melts influence mantle redox states. That kind of knowledge is critical for explaining how diamonds form and how cratons have changed over geologic time scales.
Implications for Diamond Formation and Craton Stability
The broader implications of the study’s findings are pretty profound for how we should interpret ages of diamond formation. Scientists have taken a renewed interest in the deep-earth carbon cycle. Further, they realize that understanding these findings may be used to predict cratonic stability during tectonic events in the future. Learning how carbon behaves in the presence of mantle rocks would help them in understanding how resilient these deep, ancient geological formations might be.
The finding that deep-earth carbon movements may play a role in sublithospheric diamond formation highlights the complex connections within Earth’s internal processes. By progressing our understanding of deep carbon storage and mobility, this investigation provides a major impact not only to CCUS but to geoscience at large.