Petrology and geochemistry of diamond mantle xenoliths

拟议中的研究涉及检查地球内部的样本，这些样本作为金伯利岩等火山岩中的意外包裹体被运送到地表。 这些样本来自250公里的深度，地球内部的区域如此之深，以至于无法通过其他方法直接采样。 这项研究将包括调查包括钻石在内的各种此类材料的化学成分，包括稳定同位素成分。 由于钻石是惰性和不反应的，其中包含的矿物质可以保留钻石形成过程中的条件的证据，这可能发生在数十亿年前。 这样的调查使研究人员能够重建大陆的地质演化及其否则无法到达的深根。

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.