Diamonds are almost impos-
sible to detect directly because they
are so rare: very rich kimberlite
Line pipes, the routes through which
(5) diamonds rise, may contain only
three carats of diamonds per ton
of kimberlite. Kimberlite begins as
magma in Earth’s mantle (the layer
between the crust and the core). As
(10) the magma smashes through layers
of rock, it rips out debris, creating
a mix of liquid and solid material.
Some of the solid material it brings
up may come from a so-called
(15) diamond-stability field, where condi-
tions of pressure and temperature
are conducive to the formation of
diamonds. If diamonds are to sur-
vive, though, they must shoot toward
(20) Earth’s surface quickly. Otherwise,
they revert to graphite or burn.
Explorers seeking diamonds look
for specks of “indicator minerals”
peculiar to the mantle but carried up
(25) in greater quantities than diamonds
and eroded out of kimberlite pipes
into the surrounding land. The stan-
dard ones are garnets, chromites,
and ilmenites. One can spend years
(30) searching for indicators and tracing
them back to the pipes that are their
source; however, 90 percent of
kimberlite pipes found this way are
barren of diamonds, and the rest
(35) are usually too sparse to mine.
In the 1970’s the process of
locating profitable pipes was refined
by focusing on the subtle differ-
ences between the chemical
(40) signatures of indicator minerals
found in diamond-rich pipes as
opposed to those found in barren
pipes. For example, G10 garnets,
a type of garnet typically found in
(45) diamond-rich pipes, are lower in
calcium and higher in chrome than
garnets from barren pipes. Geo-
chemists John Gurney showed that
garnets with this composition were
(50) formed only in the diamond-stability
field; more commonly found ver-
sions came from elsewhere in the
mantle. Gurney also found that
though ilmenites did not form in the
(55) diamond-stability field, there was a
link useful for prospectors: when
the iron in ilmenite was highly
oxidized, its source pipe rarely
contained any diamonds. He rea-
(60) soned that iron took on more or less
oxygen in response to conditions in
the kimberlitic magma itself—mainly
in response to heat and the avail-
able oxygen. When iron became
(65) highly oxidized, so did diamonds;
that is, they vaporized into carbon
dioxide.
Q24:
Each of the following is mentioned in the passage as a difference between G10 garnet and other versions of garnet EXCEPT
- level of oxidation
- commonness of occurrence
- chemical signature
- place of formation
- appearance in conjunction with diamonds
答案A没有异议,选项B对应于原文的什么地方? |