Peridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of Earth's continental crust composition
The chemical composition of the continental crust cannot be adequately explained by current models for its formation, because it is too rich in Ni and Cr compared to that which can be generated by any of the proposed mechanisms. Estimates of the crust composition are derived from average sediment, w...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Macmillan Publishers Limited
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/65809 |
| _version_ | 1848761208895700992 |
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| author | Beinlich, Andreas Austrheim, H. Mavromatis, V. Grguric, B. Putnis, Christine Putnis, Andrew |
| author_facet | Beinlich, Andreas Austrheim, H. Mavromatis, V. Grguric, B. Putnis, Christine Putnis, Andrew |
| author_sort | Beinlich, Andreas |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | The chemical composition of the continental crust cannot be adequately explained by current models for its formation, because it is too rich in Ni and Cr compared to that which can be generated by any of the proposed mechanisms. Estimates of the crust composition are derived from average sediment, while crustal growth is ascribed to amalgamation of differentiated magmatic rocks at continental margins. Here we show that chemical weathering of Ni- and Cr-rich, undifferentiated ultramafic rock equivalent to ~1.3 wt% of today's continental crust compensates for low Ni and Cr in formation models of the continental crust. Ultramafic rock weathering produces a residual that is enriched in Ni and also silica. In the light of potentially large volumes of ultramafic rock and high atmospheric CO2concentrations during the Archean, chemical weathering must therefore have played a major role in forming compositionally evolved components of the early Earth's crust. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:28:02Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-65809 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T10:28:02Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Macmillan Publishers Limited |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-658092018-06-08T06:42:21Z Peridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of Earth's continental crust composition Beinlich, Andreas Austrheim, H. Mavromatis, V. Grguric, B. Putnis, Christine Putnis, Andrew The chemical composition of the continental crust cannot be adequately explained by current models for its formation, because it is too rich in Ni and Cr compared to that which can be generated by any of the proposed mechanisms. Estimates of the crust composition are derived from average sediment, while crustal growth is ascribed to amalgamation of differentiated magmatic rocks at continental margins. Here we show that chemical weathering of Ni- and Cr-rich, undifferentiated ultramafic rock equivalent to ~1.3 wt% of today's continental crust compensates for low Ni and Cr in formation models of the continental crust. Ultramafic rock weathering produces a residual that is enriched in Ni and also silica. In the light of potentially large volumes of ultramafic rock and high atmospheric CO2concentrations during the Archean, chemical weathering must therefore have played a major role in forming compositionally evolved components of the early Earth's crust. 2018 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/65809 10.1038/s41467-018-03039-9 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Macmillan Publishers Limited fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Beinlich, Andreas Austrheim, H. Mavromatis, V. Grguric, B. Putnis, Christine Putnis, Andrew Peridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of Earth's continental crust composition |
| title | Peridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of Earth's continental crust composition |
| title_full | Peridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of Earth's continental crust composition |
| title_fullStr | Peridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of Earth's continental crust composition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Peridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of Earth's continental crust composition |
| title_short | Peridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of Earth's continental crust composition |
| title_sort | peridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of earth's continental crust composition |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/65809 |