Ice Age Diamonds May have been Transported South by Comet

A recently conducted study on diamonds and precious metals found in the eastern U.S. proposes that the minerals might have been transported through the air by a 3-mile wide comet that hit Canada during the last Ice Age.

It is clear to the researchers that diamonds, silver and gold found in Ohio and Indiana were transported there from Canada about 12,900 years ago, according to Line Science, but the question is how.

Allen West, a geophysicist involved with the research, noted, “There are no gold mines or silver mines in Ohio that anyone knows of, but there are plenty of them in Canada.”

West says that the comet splintered over glaciers and ice sheets in eastern Canada, possibly causing thousands of Tungusaks-like blasts (mid-air explosions caused by a fragmenting meteorite over Siberia 100 years ago), which would have transported the diamonds through the air.

The researchers speculate that the skies would have continued to rain precious stones and minerals for months following the comet.

He also proffers that the diamonds could have been carried south by rivers formed by melting glaciers.

"We're a long way from saying categorically that these things got here because of this event," West said. "They're consistent, but we've got a lot more work to do to show there's a direct connection."

The team says they are preparing to submit their results to a scientific journal in the near future.