Abstract
We report cloudy micro- and nano-inclusions in a superdeep diamond from São-Luiz, Brazil which contains inclusions of ferropericlase (Mg, Fe)O and former bridgmanite (Mg, Fe)SiO3 and ringwoodite (Mg, Fe)2SiO4. Field emission-SEM and TEM observations showed that the cloudy inclusions were composed of euhedral micro-inclusions with grain sizes ranging from tens nanometers to submicrometers. Infrared absorption spectra of the cloudy inclusions showed that water, carbonate, and silicates were not major components of these micro- and nano-inclusions and suggested that the main constituent of the inclusions was infrared-inactive. Some inclusions were suggested to contain material with lower atomic numbers than that of carbon. Mineral phase of nano- and micro-inclusions is unclear at present. Microbeam X-ray fluorescence analysis clarified that the micro-inclusions contained transition metals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) possibly as metallic or sulfide phases. The cloudy inclusions provide an important information on the growth environment of superdeep diamonds in the transition zone or the lower mantle.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
E. Fritch, T. Hainschwang, L. Massi, and B. Rondeau, “Hydrogen–related optical centers in natural diamond,” New Diamond Front. Carbon Technol. 17, 63–69 (2007).
D. J. Frost, C. Liebske, F. Langenhorst, C. A. McCammon, R. G. Trønnes, and D. C. Rubie “Experimental evidence for the esistence of iron–rich metal in the Earth’s lower mantle,” Nature 428, 409–412 (2004).
Y. Gohshi, S. Aoki, A. Iida, S. Hayakawa, and K. Sakurai, “SR microbeam X–ray analysis,” Photon Factory Activity Report 5, 130 (1987).
B. Harte, “Diamond formation in the deep mantle: the record of mineral inclusions and their distribution in relation to mantle dehydration zones,” Mineral. Mag. 74, 189–215 (2010).
B. Harte, J. W. Harris, M. T. Hutchison, G. R. Watt, and M. C. Wilding, “Lower mantle mineral associations in diamonds from Sao Luiz, Brazil,” in Mantle Petrology: Field Observations and High Pressure Experimentation: A Tribute to Francis R. (Joe) Boyd, Ed. by Y. Fei, C.M. Bertka, and B.O. Mysen, Geochem. Soc. Sp. Publ. 6, 125–153 (2010).
H. Kagi, R. Lu, P. Davidson, A. F. Goncharov, H.-K Mao, and R. J. Hemley, “Evidence for ice VI as an inclusion in cuboid diamonds from high P–T near infrared spectroscopy,” Mineral. Mag. 64, 1057–1065 (2000).
O. Navon, “High internal pressures in diamond fluid inclusions determined by infrared absorption,” Nature 353, 746–748 (1991).
J. Rudloff, F. E. Brenker, S. Schmitz, F. V. Kaminsky, and R. Wirth “TEM investigations of nanoinclusions in milky diamonds from Juina, a super deep source.” Goldschmidt 2015 Abstracts, p. 2710 (2015).
M. J. Walter, S. C. Kohn, D. Araujo, G. P. Bulanova, C. B. Smith, E. Galillou, J. Wang, A. Steele, and S. B. Shirey “Deep mantle cycling of oceanic crust: evidence from diamonds and their mineral inclusions,” Science 334, 54–57 (2011).
R. Wirth, F. Kaminsky, S. Matsyuk, and A. Schreiber, “Unusual micro- and nano-inclusions in diamonds from the Juina, Brazil,” Earth Planet Sci. Lett. 286, 292–303 (2009).
G. S. Woods and A. T. Collins, “Infrared absorption spectra of hydrogen complexes in type I diamonds,” J. Phys. Chem. Solids 44, 471–475 (1983).
D. A. Zedgenizov, H. Kagi, V. S. Shatsky, and N. V. Sobolev, “Carbonatitic melts in cuboid diamonds from Udachnaya kimberlite pipe (Yakutia): evidence from vibrational spectroscopy,” Mineral. Mag. 68, 61–73 (2004).
D. A. Zedgenizov, H. Kagi, V. S. Shatsky, and A. L. Ragozin, “Local variations of carbon isotope composition in diamonds from São–Luis (Brazil) Evidence for heterogeneous carbon reservoir in sublithospheric mantle,” Chem. Geol. 363, 114–124 (2014).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The article is published in the original.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kagi, H., Zedgenizov, D.A., Ohfuji, H. et al. Micro- and nano-inclusions in a superdeep diamond from São Luiz, Brazil. Geochem. Int. 54, 834–838 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016702916100062
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016702916100062