Pink Diamonds: Unveiling the Origins from the Supercontinent ‘Nuna’ – Australian Scientific Discovery

2023-09-20 15:01:00
Research has shown that pink diamonds were created during the division of the supercontinent ‘Nuna’. /Nature Australian scientists have discovered that pink diamonds, known as the world’s rarest diamonds, were created during the division of the supercontinent ‘Nuna’. Pink diamonds initially had no color like regular diamonds, but were found to have turned pink as they were reflected during the collision of continents. A research team from Hugo O’Learyuk at Curtin University in Western Australia announced on the 19th (local time) that the pink diamonds from Western Australia were approximately They announced in the international academic journal Nature Communications that they discovered that the supercontinent Nuna was created during the breakup 1.3 billion years ago, and that it was almost colorless at first. Geologists say there were 3 to 4 supercontinents on Earth for billions of years. It is believed that the dog existed. Among these, the supercontinent named ‘Nuna’ is estimated to be 12,900 km from north to south and 4,800 km wide. Nuna is also called the supercontinent of Colombia. According to geologists, a supercontinent called Nuna existed 1.8 billion years ago, ‘Rodinia’ about 1 billion years ago, and ‘Pangaea’ about 300 million years ago, but plate tectonics As changes occurred and the plates continued to move, they split into the continents we see today. According to the researchers, pink diamonds were formed 150km underground like regular diamonds, and were colorless at first. Then, about 1.85 billion years ago, the two continents that formed the current northern and western regions of Australia split and merged into a supercontinent called Nuna, turning pink. Hugo Olleruk, the first author of the paper, said, “The two continents were divided into two continents called Nuna.” “When they merged into continents, a collision occurred between the continents, and this collision deformed the crystal structure of the diamond,” he said. “During this process, it reflected light differently and turned pink.” More than 90% of pink diamonds are in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. He explained that this is why it came from the Argyle diamond mine. The Argyle Mine, which began mining in 1983, is famous for producing 90% of pink diamonds, the most valuable diamond. The Argyle mine ceased operations in 2020. Researchers analyzed rock samples containing diamonds from the Argyle mine to study when and how the pink diamond rose to the surface. They used radiometric methods to date the surrounding rocks and found that the pink diamond settled on the Earth’s surface between 1.31 billion and 1.25 billion years ago. “This coincides with the time when the older sister began to break up into smaller continents,” Olleruk said. “It also suggests that the two continents are connected.” Of all the diamonds submitted to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), colored diamonds are the most popular. Less than 3% are classified. Among these, pink diamonds are known to be the rarest naturally occurring diamonds and are therefore expensive. A 10.57-carat pink diamond auctioned this year had an estimated price of $35 million (about 46.5 billion won). ReferencesNature Communications,
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