Petrology and geochemistry of diamond mantle xenoliths

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The proposed research involves examination of samples of the interior of Earth that have been transported to the surface as accidental inclusions in volcanic rocks such as kimberlite.  These samples come from depths as great as 250 kilometers, regions of Earth's interior so deep that they cannot be directly sampled by other methods.  The research will include investigations into the chemical composition, including the stable isotope composition, of a variety of such materials including diamonds.  As diamonds are inert and unreactive, minerals included within them can retain evidence of the conditions during diamond formation, which may have occurred billions of years ago.  Such investigations allow researchers to reconstruct the geologic evolution of both the continents and their otherwise inaccessible deep roots.