Kimberlite Eruption

kimberlite eruption, small but powerful volcanic eruption caused by the rapid ascent of kimberlites—a type of intrusive igneous rock originating in the asthenosphere—through the lithosphere and onto the surface of the Earth. Kimberlites are thought to rise through a series of fissures in the rock. They form vertical pipelike structures that penetrate the surrounding rock. Unlike other kinds of eruptions, magma does not collect in a subsurface reservoir prior to the eruption. In addition, many surface depressions resulting from kimberlite eruptions contain deposits of diamonds.

As the kimberlite pipes approach the surface, decreasing pressure above allows some of the volatile materials in the magma (such as water and carbon dioxide) to become gaseous, and these gases expand rapidly. Should the pipes encounter rock layers containing groundwater, the water is vaporized and additional expansion occurs. Such expansion widens the pipes and produces an explosive event at the surface as upward-rushing gases dislodge rocks and create a craterlike depression.

The last kimberlite eruption is thought to have taken place more than 25 million years ago, and some scientists note that most occurred during the Cretaceous Period (146 million to about 65.5 million years ago). Since that time, depressions caused by kimberlite eruptions have undergone substantial erosion. During and after the eruption, the depression is often filled with breccia, a type of lithified sedimentary rock consisting of angular and subangular fragments rather than rounded clasts. Breccias that form during kimberlite eruptions are made up of rising kimberlite and the walls of the surrounding rock. When eroded, such a depression exposes a vertical funnel-shaped pipe that resembles a volcanic neck with the exception of the brecciated filling. If the eruption was explosive, these pipes, called diatremes, typically assume carrot-shaped profiles. In cases where the eruption is slower and corrodes the surrounding rock, diatremes may be bowl-shaped.

During their ascent, kimberlite pipes may pass through a region of the lower lithosphere called the diamond stability field, an area of high pressure where carbon can be transformed into diamonds. Diamonds that intersect the rising pipe may be pushed along by or carried within the magma to the surface. Although there is evidence that diamonds and other ejected materials can fall several kilometres away from the crater during an explosive event, most present-day discoveries of kimberlite diamonds occur within the remains of eroded craters.