In a first, researchers discovered a rare mineral that comes directly from Earth's lower mantle - Interesting Engineering
Researchers claim they have discovered a rare mineral that comes directly from Earth's lower mantle- the region between the planet's core and crust - in a new study published in Science.However, thanks to a diamond- in which it was entrapped - the new mineral dubbed 'davemaoite,' managed to make the improbable voyage from at least 412 meters within the lower mantle.Davemaoite makes up mostly 5-7 percent of the material in Earth's lower mantle and is one of three significant minerals there.These isotopes generate a lot of heat in the lower portion of Earth's mantle, making davemaoite an essential player in managing how heat moves through the deep Earth.The discovery of davemaoite by Tschauner demonstrates just one of the two ways that highly pressured minerals are discovered in nature: from the interior of meteorites or between 410 and 560 miles beneath the Earth's surface.He is optimistic that more mineral discoveries will soon be made, enabling researchers to describe the evolution of the Earth's mantle more accurately.