Nature so often sends us messages that in our scientific complacency we choose to ignore. But if we take the trouble to look, open our eyes wider, then more secrets will be revealed, and, perhaps, more ways to ensure a person's future. Looking at the crystal above, it’s hard to believe it’s a diamond at all, let alone that it changed the way we view planet Earth. It's actually tiny, only half a centimeter across.
This Brazilian diamond was brought to the surface by a volcanic eruption in 2008, and was subsequently acquired for a modest amount of about $ 20 by the University of Alberta for research purposes. By chance (they were looking for something completely different), scientists discovered in this small diamond an infinitely similar sample of ringwoodite, the highest pressure form of peridot that had previously only been found in meteorite samples.
This finding, coupled with the fact that ringwoodite contains oxygen and hydrogen atoms bound together, suggested an enormous volume of water beneath our planet's mantle. After further research, scientists calculated that three times more water than all the oceans combined, lies at a depth of 400 to 600 kilometers.
Ringwoodite was discovered in the Tenham meteorite in 1969 and is named after the Australian scientist Tim Ringwood, who did in-depth studies of peridots / olivines in the earth's crust.
It is believed that this huge reservoir of water, recycled from the surface, has a great influence on what makes our planet and us unique….