Earth recycles the ocean floor by turning it into diamonds
Your diamonds are likely ocean-dwellers.
Most diamonds are the result of the ocean floor "recycling" itself, according to a new study by researchers at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.
Traces of salt trapped in most commercially-available diamonds suggest they were formed in ancient seabeds that were buried in the Earth's crust. They were brought to the surface through volcanic eruptions that involve a special type of magma called kimberlite.
"There was a theory that the salts trapped inside diamonds came from marine seawater, but couldn't be tested," lead author Dr. Michael Förster said in a statement.
"Our research showed that they came from marine sediment."
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For their study, researchers placed seabed rocks in a high-pressure, high-temperature environment, not unlike the ocean floor.
They discovered the salts that formed on the rocks resembled the small traces of salt that can be found in some diamonds.
"We demonstrated that the processes that lead to diamond growth are driven by the recycling of oceanic sediments in subduction zones," Dr. Förster says.
"The products of our experiments also resulted in the formation of minerals that are necessary ingredients for the formation of kimberlite magmas, which transport diamonds to the Earth's surface."
The paper can be found in the journal Science Advances.