1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:10,040 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Bogabam Here. If you've ever heard the 3 00:00:10,039 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: slogan a diamond is Forever, then a nineteen forties marketing 4 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,919 Speaker 1: campaign is still doing its job. The line was coined 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: by an ad woman working with the agency that was 6 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:23,600 Speaker 1: with de Beers Group. They're the company credited with almost 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: single handedly popularizing diamonds and engagement rings from the late 8 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: nineteen forties onwards. Yep, that trend isn't even a century old. 9 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,199 Speaker 1: De Beers spent decades building a global empire, and some 10 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: would call it a cartel around diamond mines that they 11 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,839 Speaker 1: owned in countries like South Africa. So why did they 12 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: purchase more than three thousand square miles and that's about 13 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: seven thousand, eight hundred square kilometers of Atlantic seafloor near 14 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: the coast of Namibia. It's simple. Not all diamonds are 15 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: found on dry land. Many turn up and sediments below 16 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: the ocean's surface. You just have to know where to look. 17 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: Carbon is a wonderfully versatile element found in Earth's crust, atmosphere, 18 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: and all living things that we know of anyway. It's 19 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: also well represented in jewelry stores. Diamonds are made of 20 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: carbon atoms that have been subjected to extremely high temperatures 21 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: and pressures. The crystals usually have eight sides before being cut, 22 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,399 Speaker 1: but six and twelve sided specimens are out there too. 23 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 1: Inside a diamond, every individual carbon atom shares a strong 24 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:34,319 Speaker 1: bond with four others, which makes diamonds ridiculously hard. Rub 25 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: one of these gems against almost any other known material 26 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: and it'll leave a scratch mark behind. Asteroids can create 27 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: the intense heat and pressure needed to produce diamonds when 28 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: they strike the face of our planet. Such impact diamonds 29 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: are pretty rare, though, and they tend to be small. 30 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: You're way more likely to find a diamond from deep 31 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: within the Earth, forged somewhere in the ballpark of five 32 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: hundred miles under the surface. That's around a hundred forty 33 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: d kilometers, and the ocean may have played an underappreciated 34 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: role in the history of our world's diamonds supply as well. 35 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,960 Speaker 1: Many diamonds contain small quantities of salt. For years, geologists 36 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:18,359 Speaker 1: wondered if this originally came from sea water. A study 37 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,679 Speaker 1: published in the journal Science Advances in twenty nineteen bolstered 38 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: this hypothesis. It turns out that when a blend of 39 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: marine sediments and the volcanic rock peridotite experience high heat 40 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: and tremendous pressure in a laboratory setting, you get something 41 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,399 Speaker 1: that looks an awful lot like the salts trapped inside 42 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: some diamonds. What's this mean for the real world, though, 43 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: According to the papers authors, their experiment suggests that most 44 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 1: diamonds come into being after chunks of seafloor are dragged 45 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: into Earth's mantle via plate tectonics, and some of the 46 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: minerals taken from the ocean during this process crystallize into gems. 47 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 1: Volcanic eruptions later bring the diamonds up to the planet's 48 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,519 Speaker 1: surface or pretty close to it. And now, the study 49 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: mentioned above doesn't explain whide Biers and other groups are 50 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: hunting for diamonds off the African coast, those stones who 51 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: are more likely carried out to sea by river currents. 52 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 1: Namibia's southern border is defined by the Mighty Orange River. 53 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,920 Speaker 1: For millions of years, it's been grabbing a hold of 54 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,679 Speaker 1: diamonds from mainland deposits and relocating them elsewhere on the continent. 55 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 1: Only sometimes this river ferries the stones all the way 56 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: out to the ocean. Since the nineteen sixties, treasure seekers 57 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: have been dredging up diamonds by the coast lines of 58 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: northwestern South Africa and southern Namibia. In twenty eighteen, nearly 59 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: seventy five percent of the latter countries total diamond output 60 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: came from ocean based mining operations. Most of these gems 61 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: are harvested at depths of four hundred two four hundred 62 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: and fifty feet that's about a hundred and twenty two 63 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: hundred and forty meters below sea level. To accomplish this, 64 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: sediments from the ocean floor are sucked up into a 65 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,400 Speaker 1: remote controlled crawler vehicle that scuttles across the sea bed. 66 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: Fitted with mechanical arm it sends diamond ladden payloads to 67 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: the main vessel up above, where machines separate out the crystals. 68 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: Drones and two person submarines have both been used to 69 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: help these ships find diamond rich areas beneath the waves. Unfortunately, though, 70 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: dredging campaigns can have long term consequences for aquatic wildlife. 71 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,359 Speaker 1: As a cologist Kirsten Thompson told CNN, in the waters 72 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:27,919 Speaker 1: off the coast of Namibia are an important area for 73 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: a high diversity of resident and migratory species such as sharks, whales, dolphins, 74 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: and seals. Marine mining removes part of the seabed with 75 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: heavy machinery and habitat. Recovery from this type of disturbance 76 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:44,840 Speaker 1: can take decades. Gathering these ocean diamonds by hand with 77 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: higher divers in small boats is another option that's been 78 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: executed in recent years. Today's episode is based on the 79 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: article are there Diamonds in the Ocean on how stuff 80 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 1: works dot com written by mar Mancini. Brain Stuff is 81 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: production of I heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks 82 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,480 Speaker 1: dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Klang. For more 83 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,160 Speaker 1: podcasts my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 84 00:05:09,240 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.