Sublithospheric diamond ages and the supercontinent cycle

Suzette Timmerman; Thomas Stachel; Janne M. Koornneef; Karen V. Smit; Rikke Harlou; Geoff M. Nowell; Andrew R. Thomson; Simon C. Kohn; Joshua H.F.L. Davies; Gareth R. Davies; Mandy Y. Krebs; Qiwei Zhang; Sarah E.M. Milne; Jeffrey W. Harris; Felix Kaminsky; Dmitry Zedgenizov; Galina Bulanova; Chris B. Smith; Izaac Cabral Neto; Francisco V. Silveira; Antony D. Burnham; Fabrizio Nestola; Steven B. Shirey; Michael J. Walter; Andrew Steele; D. Graham Pearson

doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06662-9

Sublithospheric diamond ages and the supercontinent cycle

Suzette Timmerman^*
, Thomas Stachel
, Janne M. Koornneef
, Karen V. Smit
, Rikke Harlou
, Geoff M. Nowell
, Andrew R. Thomson
, Simon C. Kohn
, Joshua H.F.L. Davies
, Gareth R. Davies
, Mandy Y. Krebs
, Qiwei Zhang
, Sarah E.M. Milne
, Jeffrey W. Harris
, Felix Kaminsky
, Dmitry Zedgenizov
, Galina Bulanova
, Chris B. Smith
, Izaac Cabral Neto
, Francisco V. Silveira

Antony D. Burnham, Fabrizio Nestola, Steven B. Shirey, Michael J. Walter, Andrew Steele, D. Graham Pearson

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Subduction related to the ancient supercontinent cycle is poorly constrained by mantle samples. Sublithospheric diamond crystallization records the release of melts from subducting oceanic lithosphere at 300–700 km depths^1,2 and is especially suited to tracking the timing and effects of deep mantle processes on supercontinents. Here we show that four isotope systems (Rb–Sr, Sm–Nd, U–Pb and Re–Os) applied to Fe-sulfide and CaSiO₃ inclusions within 13 sublithospheric diamonds from Juína (Brazil) and Kankan (Guinea) give broadly overlapping crystallization ages from around 450 to 650 million years ago. The intracratonic location of the diamond deposits on Gondwana and the ages, initial isotopic ratios, and trace element content of the inclusions indicate formation from a peri-Gondwanan subduction system. Preservation of these Neoproterozoic–Palaeozoic sublithospheric diamonds beneath Gondwana until its Cretaceous breakup, coupled with majorite geobarometry^3,4, suggests that they accreted to and were retained in the lithospheric keel for more than 300 Myr during supercontinent migration. We propose that this process of lithosphere growth—with diamonds attached to the supercontinent keel by the diapiric uprise of depleted buoyant material and pieces of slab crust—could have enhanced supercontinent stability.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	752-756
Number of pages	5
Journal	Nature
Volume	623
Issue number	7988
Early online date	18 Oct 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06662-9
Publication status	Published - 23 Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are grateful for access to the Raman laboratory of M. Steele-MacInnis. Photographs of KK99 and KK200 were shared by M. Regier. We thank De Beers Group for the donation of Kankan diamonds and Rio Tinto for Juína diamonds previously studied. We thank the Deep Carbon Observatory for funding collection and purchase of the newly studied Juína diamond (M-1) and the CPRM/SGB, Geological Survey of Brazil (Diamond Brazil Project) for the new Juína diamond (C4-3) on loan for study. To the best of our knowledge, these materials comply with responsible sampling procedures. S.T. acknowledges funding from the Government of Canada via a Banting postdoctoral fellowship. K.V.S. acknowledges GIA support for analytical visits to Carnegie. D.G.P. acknowledges funding from NSERC Discovery grant no. 418398. S.B.S. and M.J.W. acknowledge National Science Foundation grant no. EAR-2025779.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).

Funding

We are grateful for access to the Raman laboratory of M. Steele-MacInnis. Photographs of KK99 and KK200 were shared by M. Regier. We thank De Beers Group for the donation of Kankan diamonds and Rio Tinto for Juína diamonds previously studied. We thank the Deep Carbon Observatory for funding collection and purchase of the newly studied Juína diamond (M-1) and the CPRM/SGB, Geological Survey of Brazil (Diamond Brazil Project) for the new Juína diamond (C4-3) on loan for study. To the best of our knowledge, these materials comply with responsible sampling procedures. S.T. acknowledges funding from the Government of Canada via a Banting postdoctoral fellowship. K.V.S. acknowledges GIA support for analytical visits to Carnegie. D.G.P. acknowledges funding from NSERC Discovery grant no. 418398. S.B.S. and M.J.W. acknowledge National Science Foundation grant no. EAR-2025779.

Funders	Funder number
Government of Canada
CPRM
National Science Foundation	2025779, EAR-2025779
Geological Survey of Belgium	C4-3
Deep Carbon Observatory	M-1
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada	418398

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Timmerman, S., Stachel, T., Koornneef, J. M., Smit, K. V., Harlou, R., Nowell, G. M., Thomson, A. R., Kohn, S. C., Davies, J. H. F. L., Davies, G. R., Krebs, M. Y., Zhang, Q., Milne, S. E. M., Harris, J. W., Kaminsky, F., Zedgenizov, D., Bulanova, G., Smith, C. B., Cabral Neto, I., ... Pearson, D. G. (2023). Sublithospheric diamond ages and the supercontinent cycle. Nature, 623(7988), 752-756. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06662-9

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abstract = "Subduction related to the ancient supercontinent cycle is poorly constrained by mantle samples. Sublithospheric diamond crystallization records the release of melts from subducting oceanic lithosphere at 300–700 km depths1,2 and is especially suited to tracking the timing and effects of deep mantle processes on supercontinents. Here we show that four isotope systems (Rb–Sr, Sm–Nd, U–Pb and Re–Os) applied to Fe-sulfide and CaSiO3 inclusions within 13 sublithospheric diamonds from Ju{\'i}na (Brazil) and Kankan (Guinea) give broadly overlapping crystallization ages from around 450 to 650 million years ago. The intracratonic location of the diamond deposits on Gondwana and the ages, initial isotopic ratios, and trace element content of the inclusions indicate formation from a peri-Gondwanan subduction system. Preservation of these Neoproterozoic–Palaeozoic sublithospheric diamonds beneath Gondwana until its Cretaceous breakup, coupled with majorite geobarometry3,4, suggests that they accreted to and were retained in the lithospheric keel for more than 300 Myr during supercontinent migration. We propose that this process of lithosphere growth—with diamonds attached to the supercontinent keel by the diapiric uprise of depleted buoyant material and pieces of slab crust—could have enhanced supercontinent stability.",

author = "Suzette Timmerman and Thomas Stachel and Koornneef, \{Janne M.\} and Smit, \{Karen V.\} and Rikke Harlou and Nowell, \{Geoff M.\} and Thomson, \{Andrew R.\} and Kohn, \{Simon C.\} and Davies, \{Joshua H.F.L.\} and Davies, \{Gareth R.\} and Krebs, \{Mandy Y.\} and Qiwei Zhang and Milne, \{Sarah E.M.\} and Harris, \{Jeffrey W.\} and Felix Kaminsky and Dmitry Zedgenizov and Galina Bulanova and Smith, \{Chris B.\} and \{Cabral Neto\}, Izaac and Silveira, \{Francisco V.\} and Burnham, \{Antony D.\} and Fabrizio Nestola and Shirey, \{Steven B.\} and Walter, \{Michael J.\} and Andrew Steele and Pearson, \{D. Graham\}",

note = "Funding Information: We are grateful for access to the Raman laboratory of M. Steele-MacInnis. Photographs of KK99 and KK200 were shared by M. Regier. We thank De Beers Group for the donation of Kankan diamonds and Rio Tinto for Ju{\'i}na diamonds previously studied. We thank the Deep Carbon Observatory for funding collection and purchase of the newly studied Ju{\'i}na diamond (M-1) and the CPRM/SGB, Geological Survey of Brazil (Diamond Brazil Project) for the new Ju{\'i}na diamond (C4-3) on loan for study. To the best of our knowledge, these materials comply with responsible sampling procedures. S.T. acknowledges funding from the Government of Canada via a Banting postdoctoral fellowship. K.V.S. acknowledges GIA support for analytical visits to Carnegie. D.G.P. acknowledges funding from NSERC Discovery grant no. 418398. S.B.S. and M.J.W. acknowledge National Science Foundation grant no. EAR-2025779. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023, The Author(s).",

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doi = "10.1038/s41586-023-06662-9",

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Timmerman, S, Stachel, T, Koornneef, JM, Smit, KV, Harlou, R, Nowell, GM, Thomson, AR, Kohn, SC, Davies, JHFL, Davies, GR, Krebs, MY, Zhang, Q, Milne, SEM, Harris, JW, Kaminsky, F, Zedgenizov, D, Bulanova, G, Smith, CB, Cabral Neto, I, Silveira, FV, Burnham, AD, Nestola, F, Shirey, SB, Walter, MJ, Steele, A & Pearson, DG 2023, 'Sublithospheric diamond ages and the supercontinent cycle', Nature, vol. 623, no. 7988, pp. 752-756. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06662-9

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sublithospheric diamond ages and the supercontinent cycle

AU - Timmerman, Suzette

AU - Stachel, Thomas

AU - Koornneef, Janne M.

AU - Smit, Karen V.

AU - Harlou, Rikke

AU - Nowell, Geoff M.

AU - Thomson, Andrew R.

AU - Kohn, Simon C.

AU - Davies, Joshua H.F.L.

AU - Davies, Gareth R.

AU - Krebs, Mandy Y.

AU - Zhang, Qiwei

AU - Milne, Sarah E.M.

AU - Harris, Jeffrey W.

AU - Kaminsky, Felix

AU - Zedgenizov, Dmitry

AU - Bulanova, Galina

AU - Smith, Chris B.

AU - Cabral Neto, Izaac

AU - Silveira, Francisco V.

AU - Burnham, Antony D.

AU - Nestola, Fabrizio

AU - Shirey, Steven B.

AU - Walter, Michael J.

AU - Steele, Andrew

AU - Pearson, D. Graham

N1 - Funding Information: We are grateful for access to the Raman laboratory of M. Steele-MacInnis. Photographs of KK99 and KK200 were shared by M. Regier. We thank De Beers Group for the donation of Kankan diamonds and Rio Tinto for Juína diamonds previously studied. We thank the Deep Carbon Observatory for funding collection and purchase of the newly studied Juína diamond (M-1) and the CPRM/SGB, Geological Survey of Brazil (Diamond Brazil Project) for the new Juína diamond (C4-3) on loan for study. To the best of our knowledge, these materials comply with responsible sampling procedures. S.T. acknowledges funding from the Government of Canada via a Banting postdoctoral fellowship. K.V.S. acknowledges GIA support for analytical visits to Carnegie. D.G.P. acknowledges funding from NSERC Discovery grant no. 418398. S.B.S. and M.J.W. acknowledge National Science Foundation grant no. EAR-2025779. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).

PY - 2023/11/23

Y1 - 2023/11/23

N2 - Subduction related to the ancient supercontinent cycle is poorly constrained by mantle samples. Sublithospheric diamond crystallization records the release of melts from subducting oceanic lithosphere at 300–700 km depths1,2 and is especially suited to tracking the timing and effects of deep mantle processes on supercontinents. Here we show that four isotope systems (Rb–Sr, Sm–Nd, U–Pb and Re–Os) applied to Fe-sulfide and CaSiO3 inclusions within 13 sublithospheric diamonds from Juína (Brazil) and Kankan (Guinea) give broadly overlapping crystallization ages from around 450 to 650 million years ago. The intracratonic location of the diamond deposits on Gondwana and the ages, initial isotopic ratios, and trace element content of the inclusions indicate formation from a peri-Gondwanan subduction system. Preservation of these Neoproterozoic–Palaeozoic sublithospheric diamonds beneath Gondwana until its Cretaceous breakup, coupled with majorite geobarometry3,4, suggests that they accreted to and were retained in the lithospheric keel for more than 300 Myr during supercontinent migration. We propose that this process of lithosphere growth—with diamonds attached to the supercontinent keel by the diapiric uprise of depleted buoyant material and pieces of slab crust—could have enhanced supercontinent stability.

AB - Subduction related to the ancient supercontinent cycle is poorly constrained by mantle samples. Sublithospheric diamond crystallization records the release of melts from subducting oceanic lithosphere at 300–700 km depths1,2 and is especially suited to tracking the timing and effects of deep mantle processes on supercontinents. Here we show that four isotope systems (Rb–Sr, Sm–Nd, U–Pb and Re–Os) applied to Fe-sulfide and CaSiO3 inclusions within 13 sublithospheric diamonds from Juína (Brazil) and Kankan (Guinea) give broadly overlapping crystallization ages from around 450 to 650 million years ago. The intracratonic location of the diamond deposits on Gondwana and the ages, initial isotopic ratios, and trace element content of the inclusions indicate formation from a peri-Gondwanan subduction system. Preservation of these Neoproterozoic–Palaeozoic sublithospheric diamonds beneath Gondwana until its Cretaceous breakup, coupled with majorite geobarometry3,4, suggests that they accreted to and were retained in the lithospheric keel for more than 300 Myr during supercontinent migration. We propose that this process of lithosphere growth—with diamonds attached to the supercontinent keel by the diapiric uprise of depleted buoyant material and pieces of slab crust—could have enhanced supercontinent stability.

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ER -

Sublithospheric diamond ages and the supercontinent cycle

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