Ringwoodite is a mineral that has recently been found inside diamonds.. According to a study published by the journal ‘Nature’, ringwoodite only forms 600 kilometers deep and its presence evidences significant amounts of waterwhich has opened a whole window of possibilities directed towards the exploration of planet earth.
It all started when an investigation by the University of Alberta in Canada revealed that after analyzing a diamond found in Juina, Brazil, they were able to notice the significant presence of ringwoodite within the precious stone. Specialist Graham Pearson stated that this sample would be the first to be found on the entire planet, since until now ringwoodite had only been found in meteorites.
Per se, the study concluded that ringwoodite contains 1% percent water. It may not seem like much, but a vast portion of the depth of the earth would be made up of ringwoodite, which would then be equal to a large amount of water trapped in these minerals that make up the planet.
The professor, Sally Gibson, emphasized the importance of the Canadian discovery. «Finding water in such a large concentration represents an enormously significant development in our understanding of the origin of the water present on the Earth’s surface.»
With this discovery, in addition, an enormous unknown would be deciphered that has been haunting the most brilliant minds in the world of geology for at least 25 years, since Before the discovery of ringwoodite, it was unknown whether the center of the earth was wet or dry.
from space to earth. Ringwoodite had previously only been found inside meteorites, so its discovery inside a Brazilian diamond has set a new standard for the world of science. For the American scientist, Joseph Smith, with terrestrial ringwoodite a new era unfolds for his branch of specializationafter spending decades in a laboratory studying different samples from outer space.
“I think it’s impressive! Smith added. This implies that the planet’s interior could store several times the amount of water that is already in the oceans. It tells us that hydrogen is an essential ingredient on Earth and not a later addition from comets.»
In case you did not know, in addition to their beauty, diamonds have raised the curiosity among the scientific, industrial and mineral community with this finding, proposing a new theory. The presence of minerals within diamonds would evidence the existence of water within the rocks that make up an extensive inner layer of the planet.
Scientists say that their number would be equivalent to a whole new ocean. Going further, not only would this planet have so much water, the rest of the planets that make up the solar system would also be included, which would elevate the mining of precious stones from its banal objective, to being a way of answering the unknown of the cosmic origin and the uncertainty of the future of humanity.