There are a thousand times more diamonds lurking beneath the earth’s surface than previously thought, according to a new study published by a team of U.S. researchers.
The study, published by a team of researchers from MIT, Harvard, and other top-tier institutions, proves that the precious rock may not be as rare as we were led to believe.
Scientists uncovered a cache of diamonds distributed deep below the Earth's surface using sound waves, and the results indicate that it amounts to over a quadrillion tons of the precious mineral.
"This shows that diamond is not perhaps this exotic mineral, but on the [geological] scale of things, it's relatively common," said Ulrich Faul, a research scientist in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences who helped write the study.
"We can't get at them, but still, there is much more diamond there than we have ever thought before."
The diamonds are in underground rock formations called cratons, which are shaped like inverted mountains, lie at the center of the planet's tectonic plates, and can stretch up to 320 km into the Earth, according to MIT.
According to researchers’ estimates, the bottom sections of these cratons, or roots, may be composed of one to two percent diamond.
Using seismic data, scientists were able to reveal what the deepest parts of the Earth are composed of, allowing them to paint a picture of what the inside of the planet looks like.
The diamonds, however, are impossible to mine since they're situated 145 to 241 kilometers below the Earth's surface, far deeper than any drills are capable of reaching.
