Rare pink diamonds formed in 'break-up of 1st supercontinent Nuna'
Technology
Specific pressure conditions allowed the diamonds to be pink
(Web Desk) - Pink diamonds may have gotten their color from forming under super-specific conditions that include the collision of the first supercontinent, new research suggests.
The majority of pink diamonds available on Earth come from the Argyle formation located in western Australia which is where the supercontinent Nuna came together and broke apart.
Nuna is the oldest known supercontinent that came together about 1.8 billion years ago.
The Argyle formation holds 90 percent of the Earth's pink diamonds.
A study published in the journal Nature believes that the specific pressure conditions from this spot are what allowed the diamonds to be pink.
The collision of the crust is probably what bent the diamonds and made them pink, the study said.
Nuna then broke apart 500 million years later and allowed the eruption of deep rock.
The only way to access the depth level of the pink diamonds is also from the continent breaking.
"The breakup of these continents is fundamental at getting these diamonds up from these deep depths," said Hugo Olierook, a research fellow at Curtin University in Australia and lead author of the study, per Live Science.
If there is any slight difference in the pressure the diamonds turn brown.
"Pinks are, say, a small push, if you like," Olierook added.
"You push a little bit too hard and they turn brown."
The researchers believe there could be more troves of pink diamonds in similar areas where continents came together and broke apart.
The only issue is they would be buried under a lot of eroded-away rock and sediment.
"I do think we will find another Argyle, another pink diamond treasure trove," Olierook said.
"But it’s going to take a lot of luck."
