Abstract
The continental crust has ultimately been extracted from the mantle and knowledge of its composition is therefore fundamental to an understanding of the chemical evolution of the Earth. Attempts to model its average chemistry are complicated by marked vertical and lateral chemical and lithological heterogeneity1–3 and by problems of sampling the deeper levels of the crust. We have adopted a different, empirical, approach to try and take account of geophysical and isotopic constraints by considering the major and trace element chemistry of components which are typical of various crustal levels and ages. Our estimate differs from that of the ‘andesitic’ model in being more siliceous and having a more fractionated rare earth element pattern. Its higher Th, U and K contents generate a higher heat production of 0.95 µW m−3 compared with previous estimates of 0.75–0.91 µW m−3.
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Weaver, B., Tarney, J. Empirical approach to estimating the composition of the continental crust. Nature 310, 575–577 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/310575a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/310575a0
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