A group of researchers from MIT have uncovered the mystery of the anomalies “craton roots”, where the speed and schedule of passing acoustic signals through certain parts of the rocks are considerably distorted. We are talking about the seismic waves that shake the bowels of the planet and closely examined more than a dozen years. The reason probably lies in the countless deposits of wealth in the bowels of our Earth.
Craton is called the ancient stable area of the earth’s surface, the core of the continent, which long ago, from a billion years and more, were not subjected to the destructive tectonic activity. The Kraton is a kind of “roots” – rocky outcroppings the size of a mountain, to down, to the center of the Earth. The substances of which they consist, very durable and solid, as evidenced by a change in the speed of passage of the vibrational waves.
However, in some cases, the speed of passage of the wave through the concrete roots of the craton at times exceeds the calculated. Scientists simulated conditions and found that to achieve this effect within the breed should be a lot of patches of substances with the toughness of diamond. From 1% to 2 %, based on the dimensions of the cratons themselves, it is the largest in the history of the field of precious stones. The account goes on billions of tons and quadrillion!
Alas, the depth of the roots of the craton starts from 150 km and deeper, so with existing technologies to get to them is unrealistic. And it is not cost-effective – with so many diamonds at once cease to be a rarity and will lose in the price. But it gives food for thought and material for experiments, because then you have to reconsider many geological principles.
Source — MIT