Earth's early history is an enigma that defies understanding. However, the keys to unraveling this mystery may lie in stones and minerals that witnessed the beginnings of our planet.
In particular, special diamonds, with origins dating back to 400 million to 650 million years ago, when the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana existed, are rewriting our perspective of Earth's evolution.
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These diamonds, found deep in the mines of Brazil and Guinea, are much more than just precious stones. They represent a unique window into Earth's past.
“Super-deep diamonds are extremely rare, and we now know they can provide us with vital information about the formation of continents,” said Dr. Karen Smit, from the Wits School of Geosciences, one of the authors of the study published in the scientific journal Nature.
Research is fundamental to understanding how continents develop and move, since, without continents, life on the planet as we know it would not be possible.
Although it may seem like Earth's continents and oceans have always had the same shape, the reality is much more dynamic.
The constant change in Earth's geology is governed by plate tectonics, which shape and reconfigure our planet's landscape, a process that continues to this day.
The formation of the first known continent occurred approximately 3 billion years ago, after the Earth cooled. This primitive continent comprised parts of what we now call Australia, Africa and India.
Over billions of years, the planet went through several phases of formation and destruction of continents, including ice ages and landmark geological events.
(Source: Wits University / Reproduction)
About 230 million years ago, a gigantic land mass known as Pangea formed, a milestone in Earth's history. It was in Pangea that many species emerged, and the configuration of the continents that we recognize today began to be defined.
The breakup of Pangea led to the formation of the Atlantic Ocean, dividing the supercontinent into Laurasia (which eventually gave rise to giving rise to North America, Europe and part of Asia) and Gondwana (giving rise to South America, Africa, India, Australia and Antarctica).
Around 120 million years ago, Gondwana separated, resulting in the current configuration of the continents of South America and Africa, in addition to moving India towards Asia.
The discovery of diamonds dating back to ancient supercontinents represents a crucial finding in understanding this period in Earth's history.
The presence of these diamonds in South America and Africa helps scientists confirm the existence of Gondwana, a theory that, despite existing evidence, is still treated as a hypothesis in development.
