Saturday, March 7, 2020

What are the Elements Found in the Earth Crust

What are the Elements Found in the Earth Crust

What are the elements found in the Earth Crust, The elements that make up the Earth’s Crust is shown in tabulated form with the estimated crustal abundance for each chemical element shown as mg/kg, or parts per million (ppm) by mass (10,000 ppm = 1%). Note that the noble gases are not included, as they form no part of the solid crust. Also not included are certain elements with extremely low crustal concentrations: technetium (atomic number 43), promethium (61), and all elements with atomic numbers greater than 83 except thorium (90) and uranium (92).

Estimates of elemental abundance are difficult because (a) the composition of the upper and lower crust are quite different, and (b) the composition of the continental crust can vary drastically by locality.

Earth is unique among the known planets: it has an abundance of water. Other worlds — including a few moons — have atmospheres, ice, and even oceans, but only Earth has the right combination to sustain life.

Earth’s oceans cover about 70 percent of the planet’s surface with an average depth of 2.5 miles (4 kilometers). Fresh water exists in liquid form in lakes and rivers and as water vapor in the atmosphere, which causes much of Earth’s weather.

Earth has multiple layers. The ocean basins and the continents compose the crust, the outermost layer. Earth’s crust is between three and 46 miles (five and 75 km) deep. The thickest parts are under the continents and the thinnest parts are under the oceans.

This is a table that shows the elemental chemical composition of the Earth’s crust. Keep in mind, these numbers are estimates. They will vary depending on the way they were calculated and the source. 98.4% of the Earth’s crust consists of oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. All other elements account for approximately 1.6% of the volume of the Earth’s crust.

What are the Elements Found in the Earth Crust

 

Element Percent by Volume
oxygen 46.60%
silicon 27.72%
aluminum 8.13%
iron 5.00%
calcium 3.63%
sodium 2.83%
potassium 2.59%
magnesium 2.09%
titanium 0.44%
hydrogen 0.14%
phosphorus 0.12%
manganese 0.10%
fluorine 0.08%
barium 340 ppm
carbon 0.03%
strontium 370 ppm
sulfur 0.05%
zirconium 190 ppm
tungsten 160 ppm
vanadium 0.01%
chlorine 0.05%
rubidium 0.03%
chromium 0.01%
copper 0.01%
nitrogen 0.005%
nickel trace
zinc trace

Mineral Composition

The crust is chemically similar to andesite. The most abundant minerals in the continental crust are feldspar (41%), quartz (12%), and pyroxene (11%)

Keep in mind, the elemental composition of the Earth’s crust is not the same as the composition of the Earth. The mantle and core account for significantly more mass than the crust. The mantle is about 44.8% oxygen, 21.5% silicon, and 22.8% magnesium, with iron, aluminum, calcium, sodium, and potassium. The Earth’s core is believed to consist primarily of a nickel-iron alloy.



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