EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF HIGH PRESSURE AND HIGH TEMPERATURE ON SILICATE AND OXIDE INCLUSIONS IN DIAMONDS

Abstract

The investigation of primary inclusions in natural diamonds is the main source of information on the environment of diamond formation. It is usually assumed that inclusions trapped during diamond crystallization did not change during the postcrystallization period and, therefore, adequately reflect the composition of the crystallization medium. Most natural diamonds were formed in the Earth’s mantle long before their transportation to the surface by kimberlite or lamproite melts, which implies that diamonds resided over a considerable time period (hundreds of millions and even billions of years) in the Earth’s mantle after the termination of their crystallization. Thus, investigations are needed to demonstrate the invariance of inclusions during the postcrystallization period or evaluate their possible changes, which must be accounted for during the reconstruction of the conditions of diamond genesis.