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http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/07/plate-tectonics-different-on-early-earth.ars
Contrary to popular culture, diamonds are not formed from the metamorphosis of coal under tremendous heat and pressure. It makes for nice poetry, but it’s not true. The real story is actually a bit more interesting than that.
Diamonds form in the upper mantle, about 125 to 175 km below the surface, where they form along the undersides (or “keels”) of continents. After they crystallize, they commonly spend more than a billion years before coming to the surface in spectacular fashion
Contrary to popular culture, diamonds are not formed from the metamorphosis of coal under tremendous heat and pressure. It makes for nice poetry, but it’s not true. The real story is actually a bit more interesting than that.
Diamonds form in the upper mantle, about 125 to 175 km below the surface, where they form along the undersides (or “keels”) of continents. After they crystallize, they commonly spend more than a billion years before coming to the surface in spectacular fashion