EARTH — Scientists analyzing diamonds have found that small pockets of water may exist deep in the Earth's mantle. <br /><br />Geologists unearthed impure diamonds from mines in southern Africa, Zaire, Sierra Leone and China, according to a report published in the journal Science. <br /><br />The diamonds were then sent to the Argonne National Lab in Illinois for analysis in the Advanced Photon Source synchrotron particle accelerator. <br /><br />Mineralogist Oliver Tschauner from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and his colleagues found more than a dozen diamonds with a distinct form of crystallized water known as ice VII. <br />Ice VII has been studied in labs, but these samples are the first known natural samples. Because of the team's discovery, ice VII has been classified as a new mineral. <br /><br />The ice crystals suggest pockets of watery fluid may be present deep in the Earth's mantle, despite the high temperatures. <br /><br />The scientists estimated the diamonds were formed at depths between 610 and 800 kilometers below the Earth's surface. <br />Researchers were unable to determine the exact location of the pockets or how common they could be.
