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Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Atom Probe Tomography Analysis of Exsolved Mineral Phases
Published on: October 25, 2019
Diamond genesis, seismic structure, and evolution of the Kaapvaal-Zimbabwe craton
Steven B Shirey1, Jeffrey W Harris, Stephen H Richardson
1Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5241 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC 20015, USA. shirey@dtm.ciw.edu
Abstract:
The lithospheric mantle beneath the Kaapvaal-Zimbabwe craton of southern Africa shows variations in seismic P-wave velocity at depths within the diamond stability field that correlate with differences in the composition of diamonds and their syngenetic inclusions. Middle Archean mantle depletion events initiated craton keel formation and early harzburgitic diamond formation. Late Archean accretionary events involving an oceanic lithosphere component stabilized the craton and contributed a younger Archean generation of eclogitic diamonds. Subsequent Proterozoic tectonic and magmatic events altered the composition of the continental lithosphere and added new lherzolitic and eclogitic diamonds to the Archean diamond suite.
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