In what could solve the mystery of how the planet's crust evolved, scientists have found the world's oldest diamonds trapped inside zircon crystals from the Jack Hills region, hundreds of km away from Perth.
The 4-billion-year-old diamonds, almost as old as the earth itself, are alleged to be about 1 billion years older than any found in terrestrial rock.
The diamonds "introduce a new dimension to the debate on the origin of these zircons and the evolution of the early earth", researchers said today.
The Australian and German scientists who unearthed the diamonds say the discovery supports the view that earth in the Hadean era, which existed about 4.4 billion years ago, was not a hellish zone but was cooler, like the earth today.
Researchers used Raman laser technology to analyse 1,000 randomly chosen zircon grains, ranging from 4.3 to 3.1 billion years in age. Of these, they found diamond inclusions in 45 grains.
The 4-billion-year-old diamonds, almost as old as the earth itself, are alleged to be about 1 billion years older than any found in terrestrial rock.
The diamonds "introduce a new dimension to the debate on the origin of these zircons and the evolution of the early earth", researchers said today.
The Australian and German scientists who unearthed the diamonds say the discovery supports the view that earth in the Hadean era, which existed about 4.4 billion years ago, was not a hellish zone but was cooler, like the earth today.
Researchers used Raman laser technology to analyse 1,000 randomly chosen zircon grains, ranging from 4.3 to 3.1 billion years in age. Of these, they found diamond inclusions in 45 grains.
