This is “the first time that lower mantle minerals have ever been observed in nature.”
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.
Aaron celestian/ natural history museum, LA
The finding is a surprise because no one has or expects to retrieve such a high-pressure mineral on the Earth’s surface after decades of searching.