The Volcanoes Which Erupt Diamonds; Kimberlite Eruptions

[@GeologyHub]

Kimberlites are truly a strange and somewhat primitive volcanic rock. They carry many minerals largely found in the mantle which makes them strange to view. Olivine altered to serpentine is one common feature.

[@stuartkeithguitars4251]

Pure keylime olivine eludes me. Supposed to be around me somewhere near Spokane but every time I go out with new data...it's a lie.

[@Jordan__Sloan]

@@stuartkeithguitars4251 sounds fun looking though right? Just was out by crestone Colorado, lots of interesting minerals out there too, happy hunting.

[@stuartkeithguitars4251]

@@Jordan__Sloan no...not as far as I actually drove to look for it....lol.

[@just_kos99]

This was esp fascinating! Saving to my "science, geology" playlist for further study!

[@dennisstorie4604]

Explain the Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas. They have found Diamonds in Wyoming and Eastern Kansas

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

the soil in Missouri is similar to the one in Arkansas.

[@DaPikaGTM]

He's done the Crater of Diamonds already: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oX6Xfax6rdBpfZo

[@MelanieCravens]

I was just coming to ask about Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas.

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

@@MelanieCravensArkansas I would love to spell the place but not here,my spelling is bad it's in Murfreesboro,it looks right.

[@ModernProspector]

The Prairie Creek diatreme "Crater of Diamonds" is a lamproite rather than a kimberlite. The diatremes in Kansas and Wyoming you're pr referring to are kimberlite. However, there is also kimberlite in Arkansas and lamproite in Kansas and Wyoming.

[@sirdavidoftor3413]

Just to add to your comment about where diamonds are located in Canada. There are also a lot of mines in north western Canada in the Northwest Territories! These mines, I believe are fairly recent ( the last 20 years). Luv your channel! Stay safe, stay sane, stay Strong

[@satanicmicrochipv5656]

@Sir David of Tor (WTF?) Yep, the mines are about 20 years old, the K-pipes are ancient. I'm an engineer (civil), but I work as a surveyor with a geophysics exploration outfit We were up at the arctic circle in the Northwest Territory about 12-13 years ago looking for Kimberlite, specifically the diamond kind. Had to go in the winter and set up the EM and Gravitational sensor arrays in the ice sheet and shoot down into the earth through the ice, because during the summer it's a vast 4-20 foot deep salt marsh with clouds of mosquitoes that can suck a caribou dry in an hour. Not to far south from where we were, is the 3rd darkest place on earth, in the summer. Anyway, we just finished a month long expo in the Crazy Mountain's Range Wilderness of Montana looking for Kimberlite deposits, among other minerals, that were brought up by the buckling of the crust that formed the mountain range. Caused by the same plate buckling that formed the Rocky Mountain's, but an independent range running north/south, separated from the Bitteroot Rocky's by about 200 miles and about 100 miles north of the Yellowstone caldera's north rim. Amazing place. Now we're in the shop until the next expo, getting our gear squared away for a 9 month expo beginning in the spring, to Antarctica with the National Science Foundation, U.S. Antarctic Reseach Program and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It's going to be awesome, and I get one of those badass NSF-USARP-USACE parkas with my name embroidered on it. 👍 I love my job. SCIENCE!!!

[@californiakayaker]

I could swear there is some Kimberlite in the collection of volcanic type rocks I inherited when I bought this place. It contains rocks from Lassen, Mt Shasta, and possible Glass mountain. Tons of Obsidian. Native Americans live here.

[@yewtoob2007]

Great video! Request: oldest rivers on the planet. Thanks!

[@MoistMayo]

Thankyou for the content!!

[@smallfootprint2961]

I always look forward to your well researched videos.

[@stuartkeithguitars4251]

Mt. Konocti by Clear Lake CA is a great example of a cone with crappy diamonds all over the place nearby. Any dry streambed near that mountain you can find handfuls and sometimes a cutter of lesser grade. From memory as a child of 10....we were stomping around a lot scoria when we went on "diamond" hunts. Red rock...scoria...and maybe ryolites. ....but it's an old memory and they say it's dacites. So i look it up and ya...red dacite is precisely what I have for a 50 year old memory of seeing whole fields of on those hunts. Cool. Red dacite lava with crappy diamonds in it. Mt. Konocti.

[@LadyAnuB]

I didn't know Mt. Konocti has diamonds around it. A new thing I learned about Lake County.

[@azopalinc]

Lake County “diamonds” are actually quartz.

[@stuartkeithguitars4251]

@@azopalinc No...they are on average quite a bit harder than just quartz.......7.5 to 8 and sometime NINE on the mohs scale.....is not quartz. Quartz doesn't go harder than 7. But they are not what any diamond guy is going to call good quality diamond either. As diamonds go....they basically suck. A Herkimer diamond is quartz. The ones at Konocti will form into octahedron crystals if given the chance (real diamond) and a Herkimer will have hexagonal prism sides with end terminations...quartz.

[@ModernProspector]

​@@LadyAnuB It does not contain any diamonds.

[@carlo4725]

When mentioning the locations of Kimberlite pipes, I thought that you would have mentioned one that is located in one of if not the oldest country’s in the world. It is located in Western Australia’s north west region. The diamonds created here are in a range of colours and were mined for several decades. The area is called the Kimberly region. I am curious if the name is due to the Kimberlite pipe and how the pink and other colour diamonds were formed. I really enjoy your videos and watch every day. I look forward to your next episode. Thanks

[@CB-ko2hd]

Hi Carlo, the name kimberlite was first suggested for this type of rock by professor Henry Lewis (1887) after the first discovery of non-alluvial diamonds in the town of Kimberly, South Africa rather than the Kimberley region in WA. Prior to that they had been described as eruptive tuff.

[@allangibson8494]

The Kimberley region was named after the 1st Earl of Kimberley in 1879 (who was Secretary of State for Colonies at the time). (The eponymous Kimberley is a town in Norfolk, England). Kimberley, South Africa was named after the same Earl a year before…

[@gordonbyron5145]

The colour in diamonds is due to impurities, just like with other gemstones. For example, pure corundum (Al2O3) is transparent, but if you add a bit of chromium it becomes red and you call it a ruby. Insert titanium and iron instead of chromium and it becomes blue and called a sapphire.

[@SaoGage]

You should do a video on Komatiite; that form of ancient magma always fascinated me. Apparently this form of molten rock is “extinct” as the mantle is no longer hot enough to produce it, though I wonder if the Hawaiian Hotspot is near capable. Is it true Picrite / Picro - Basalt is similar compositionally but formed at much lower temperature (something like 1300C whereas Komatiite is over 1600C)? In other words Picrite may hold minerals that would be dissolved in actual Komatiite.

[@kimberchick8527]

I'm very happy to learn more about Kimberlite. This is quite fascinating. I'd love to have a few pieces of Kimberlite to my rock collection.

[@TNTthrilla69]

Depending where u live if you’re in the U.S there is a lot in the Appalachian mountain range, it can also be found in Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Wyoming, and Colorado I’m sure there is other states but I know of these ones for sure

[@christopherswetz5762]

Can you talk about uranium in kimberlite pipes? I understand that a lot of the uranium mined in Arizona/Utah comes from kimberlite pipe and the downstream (ancient) drainage channels from the pipes. What does uranium have to do with kimberlite pipes, and is there any commonality why diamonds/uranium are found in them both?

[@juliojesus2910]

This is a question I want answers to as well

[@haegeum_]

Please do a video about Irazu Volcano in Costa Rica. Greetings from CR :D

[@astrogeo1]

2:33 Kimberlite intrusions moves fast upwards do to a high level of CO2.. What is actually the originating source of CO2 deep down there ??

[@jenniferrobinson3344]

1:34 thank you for pronouncing peridot correctly

[@gregknipe8772]

would you be interested in explaining diatremes?

[@burgercide]

Love this channel.

[@offthecuffadventureswithjamie]

Thanks!

[@pandufibran]

hello geologyhub! near Lake Toba (Toba super volcano) there was an earthquake on the 1st yesterday (5-6sr), and did the earthquake have an impact on the activities of the Toba super volcano?

[@GeologyHub]

Sorry for the late response. It did not have any significant impacts on Toba.

[@stormcrowemissaryofsophia2366]

i do love a good diatreme pipe eruption.. thanks for the upload.

[@PetraKann]

Alluvial diamonds settling in creeks, rivers and river mouths have been mined for a very long time. It takes time

[@minraja]

Here is another suggestion. Multistage damming of the Rhine River by Tephra fallout during the 12,900 BP Plinian Laacher See Eruption.

[@augustolobo2280]

I'd like to suggest a video on the Cabuji extinct volcano in northeastern Brazil

[@offthecuffadventureswithjamie]

Good one thank you.

[@bradleyraath114]

Is there a video on the big hole in Kimberly, South Africa? I'm from SA, and was wondering if the kimberlite type volcano may have something to do with the denser areas of magma in the mantle?

[@kathysmith6413]

you totally neglected t, MacMurray and the gem quality diamonds found in northe western Canada. the ones found in eastern Canada are mostly industrial type but there are enough gem quality north of Ft. Mac to warrant upir then Prime Minister Kim Campbell to lock it down and notify deBoers and have them establish an office in Ft. Mac that was good number of years ago and there is a thriving trade in Canadian gem stone quality diamonds. check it out

[@StuffandThings_]

Are there any other unique types of volcanoes which don't fit on the typical diagram? I'm aware of Kimberlites, Carbonatites, and Komatiites, but not anything else. It doesn't seem entirely out of the question to have other exotic stuff as well. I mean, very occasionally volcanoes will even erupt sulfur! With all the varied rock types Earth has available I wouldn't be surprised if some partial melting could yield particularly interesting results on occasion.

[@Dragrath1]

What about lamproites the other volcanic pipe rock composition? As for others I can't think or find any with a brief google search however maybe if you stretch the definition of unique you could count Adakites? They aren't completely different in their material, they so have silica and are intermediate to felsic, but they are odd enough that there is still a fair amount of controversy over how they form aside from that their composition is the closest of identified volcanic/igneous rocks to Archean aged plutonic rocks. In all likelihood they appear to form from the direct melting of subducted slabs rather than the overlying mantle but its not definitively agreed upon.

[@StuffandThings_]

@@Dragrath1 Ah, I remember reading about Lamproites, as being somewhat related to Kimberlites. Don't know a whole lot about Adakites though, so that's interesting. Seems like once again all the really weird stuff comes from partial melting of some sort.

[@Dragrath1]

@@StuffandThings_ Yeah partial melting does that as it results in different compositional stuff. I wouldn't be surprised to learn the original material that volcanic pipes erupt might have originated that way too as if you look as some of the more geologically recent Kimberlites/Lamporites with seismic tomography there appears to be subducted crustal slabs at considerable depth within the mantle beneath the area the plates would are at or would have been located around the time of their eruptions. In this case notably slabs which would, assuming a constant rate of sinking, have formed at latitudes conducive to carbonate reef dominated ecosystems during a relative hothouse periods (late Jurassic for the Arkansas region pipes or in the case of recent activity in Africa the late Cretaceous to early Paleogene subduction of the tropical latitude Tethys ocean. Basically I wonder what would happen if you subduct one of those huge carbonate reef complexes and it reaches say sufficiently high temperatures an pressures down in the mantle to force it to melt beneath a thick continental craton which caps its ascent? Could that lead to high carbonate melt associated volcanism? At least part of the separation between carbonates and silicates comes from fluid immiscibility (i.e. molten carbonates and molten silicates separate like oil and water) which is likely why the two aren't seen in combination at most volcanoes if at all. Ol Doinyo Lengai being the best if not only extant example of carbonate volcanism

[@StuffandThings_]

@@Dragrath1 Yeah, I believe Ol Doinyo Lengai erupts carbonatite due to its incredibly deep plumbing and the separation of carbonatites and silica based melts (which iirc are still quite incredibly mafic), hence the nice steep cone as it switched over relatively recently. I've seen carbonatites compared to molten limestone, the idea of subducted reefs is quite interesting. If that is the case, then it would make sense for carbonatite volcanism to be much more common in the Paleozoic when the reefs were in full swing, as they didn't really recover after the P-Tr up until the Cenozoic. Those Cenozoic reefs probably haven't had enough time to make their way deep enough to melt and pool carbonatites. That does leave the question open of why Precambrian volcanism still seems to have a multitude of volcanoes discovered with quite odd chemistries, the hotter mantle accounts for the much much more common komatiites, massive basalt shields, and perhaps even kimberlites but it still leaves carbonatite volcanism a mystery.

[@Dragrath1]

@@StuffandThings_ While reefs were absent for most of the Mesozoic you can't forget that they did eventually return in the form of the fascinating and incredibly successful Rudist clams, a group of reef building clams that appeared in the late Jurassic and rapidly diversified and rebuilt the return of carbonate reef complexes in the Cretaceous as they had evolved to occupy that niche. They of course died out 66 Ma when Chicxulub violently ended the Mesozoic. Growth patterns show distinctive day night cycles also revealing the day at the end of the Cretaceous was around 23 and a half hours long which suggest they had formed similar relationships to modern corals with algae. In effect while corals never recovered the role of reef builders during the Mesozoic a large part of that is because they were beaten to that niche by an incredibly diverse and successful group of clams that evolved to occupy that niche. Rudists without their algal partners couldn't survive and so they perished like pretty much all primary producers and consumers thus that left the tropical carbonate reef builder niche became open allowing corals to recolonize it. Timing wise Rudist reefs particularly from the early parts of their reign have had plenty of time to sink deep into the mantle.

[@frowgbat]

Why do Hawaiian volcanoes have olivine but no other gemstone? Would it be possible there will be diamonds or other gemstones found in Hawaii in the future as the hot spot moves?

[@SpaceLover-he9fj]

If known Kimberlites are found in the cratons you have mentioned, does that mean that there is much more kimberlite in the other cratons of the world?

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

what about alluvial tube's

[@Anaxiphanes]

Video topic idea - Earthquake storm (possible volcanism) on the Reykjanes Ridge.

[@Jordan__Sloan]

I love the diamonds that have natural faucets

[@robertsydes9727]

What geologic conditions lead to the formation of kimberlite magma?

[@dirtydishwolf1633]

Well they just found king Solomons mines the legend of zinge is true!

[@xaviersavedra711]

I can imagine some of those diamonds getting fragmented by the explosivity and becoming one with the ash.

[@juliojesus2910]

CO2

[@leandroregueiro2067]

@GeologyHub I would really like to see some video explaining the African Rift zone. Is it caused by any hotspot like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is supposed to have been created by the Iceland hotspot?

[@CYCLONE4499]

Is the Crater of diamonds in Arkansas a kimberlite pipe or volcano?

[@MADDLADO1]

Thanks for watching

[@beth-rg8bm]

Wasn't Mount St Helens a kimberlite eruption?

[@jorgesuspenso5105]

Not in all! The kimberlite eruptions forms into very deep locations in the mantle

[@GamingCeo420]

Omw to risk my life to get some of that rock

[@cykkm]

Timothy, this is so amazing , thank you! TIL the most awesome tidbit of volcanism to-date: a volcano that blasts up a combustible mineral which, against all odds, does not combust, even if only some of it! FWIW, I found a lab demo showing how eagerly diamond burns in pure liquid oxygen: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqXGgWyJgbB4fZY. Though many things we think of as non-flammable do, diamond readily burns in air once ignited, too. Do you perchance know an explanation, how come diamonds haven't all burned up during such explosive eruptions? The temperature is more than enough to ignite it in air. The atmospheric O₂ concentration changed little over the recent geologic time, never falling below 18% in the past 100My, IIRC. Was it the high volume of CO₂ that protected diamonds from combustion-but how? Or were these eruptions relatively cooler? Diamond flash point in air is ≈850 ⁰C. I can imagine an effusive eruption being protected by a blanket of CO₂ even as lava flows and churns, eventually exposing mostly every bit of it to the atmosphere. But the Plinian eruption?! It's a megakaboom that blasts molten rock up at a supersonic velocity, pulverising it to droplets, so that it's very thoroughly exposed to air, likely still being above diamond's ignition point. I can, however, think of quick adiabatic cooling effect from the expanding gas, which propels it up in the first place.

[@sixthsenseamelia4695]

🌱🌏💚

[@CKILBY-zu7fq]

Thanks so much brother, do you think you could help me out?? I wanted to know everything that God wanted us to do so that I don't fail him and just get consumed by the Terrible Things taking place as the one you just revealed. Mabe you can revieal to us what God actually wants from us. You asked, so I'm asking. Peace. And thanks JAW.

[@DarkSide360-0]

Minecraft players finding salvation rn

[@rachelb3941]

I love your videos, but you talk too fast!!! I can’t keep up with you. 😢