Researchers have discovered substantial deposits of diamonds situated about 485 km beneath Mercury’s surface, where their extraction is currently deemed unfeasible. Live Science reported that a recent study indicates the possible existence of a thick layer of diamonds deep within Mercury.
Yanhao Lin, a staff scientist at the Center for High-Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research in Beijing and co-author of the study, highlighted Mercury’s exceptionally high carbon content, suggesting unique geological processes within the planet’s interior. Mercury, being the first planet in our solar system, possesses a magnetic field albeit much weaker than Earth’s. NASA’s Messenger spacecraft previously identified anomalous dark areas on Mercury’s surface as graphite, a form of carbon.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, shed light on Mercury’s composition and its peculiar magnetic field. Scientists believe Mercury likely formed from the solidification of a hot lava ocean, akin to the development of other terrestrial planets. This ocean was likely rich in silicate and carbon, leading to the formation of Mercury’s outer crust and middle mantle through the crystallization of residual magma, with metals coagulating to form the central core.
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For years, scientists believed that the conditions in Mercury’s mantle were conducive to the formation of graphite, which would rise to the surface due to its lower density compared to the mantle. However, a 2019 study suggested that Mercury’s mantle might be deeper, by about 50 kilometers (80 miles), than previously estimated, significantly increasing the temperature and pressure at the mantle-core boundary. Under these conditions, carbon could potentially crystallize into diamonds.
Researchers from Belgium and China recreated these extreme conditions using chemical mixtures of carbon, silica, iron, and varying concentrations of iron sulfide, resembling compositions found in meteorites and resembling Mercury’s ancient magma ocean. These mixtures were subjected to crushing pressures of 7 gigapascals using a multiple-anvil press, mirroring conditions deep within Mercury. In addition to physical experiments, computer simulations were employed to model the temperature and pressure near Mercury’s core-mantle boundary, offering insights into the planet’s interior composition.
Yanhao Lin noted that these simulations provide valuable data on the fundamental components of Mercury’s interior, contributing to our understanding of its geological history and unique characteristics.
According to the research findings, minerals such as olivine likely originated in Mercury’s mantle. However, the study also revealed that the chemical mixture solidified only at significantly elevated temperatures when sulfur was introduced. These conditions increase the likelihood of diamond formation. Furthermore, computer simulations conducted by the team indicated that diamonds could have formed during the solidification of Mercury’s inner core under these altered conditions. Subsequently, they would have risen to the core-mantle boundary due to their lower density compared to the core. Estimates suggest that if diamonds are indeed present, they would form a layer approximately 15 km (9 miles) thick.
Nevertheless, mining these diamonds is not feasible. Apart from the planet’s extraordinarily high temperatures, the diamonds are located nearly 485 km below the surface, rendering extraction impractical. Yanhao Lin suggested that these diamonds may play a role in heat transfer between the mantle and core, contributing to temperature differentials and the circulation of liquid iron, which generate a magnetic field.
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