Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- List of abbreviations
- Prologue
- 1 The planets: their formation and differentiation
- 2 A primary crust: the highland crust of the Moon
- 3 A secondary crust: the lunar maria
- 4 Mercury
- 5 Mars: early differentiation and planetary composition
- 6 Mars: crustal composition and evolution
- 7 Venus: a twin planet to Earth?
- 8 The oceanic crust of the Earth
- 9 The Hadean crust of the Earth
- 10 The Archean crust of the Earth
- 11 The Post-Archean continental crust
- 12 Composition and evolution of the continental crust
- 13 Crusts on minor bodies
- 14 Reflections: the elusive patterns of planetary crusts
- Indexes
- References
12 - Composition and evolution of the continental crust
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 October 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- List of abbreviations
- Prologue
- 1 The planets: their formation and differentiation
- 2 A primary crust: the highland crust of the Moon
- 3 A secondary crust: the lunar maria
- 4 Mercury
- 5 Mars: early differentiation and planetary composition
- 6 Mars: crustal composition and evolution
- 7 Venus: a twin planet to Earth?
- 8 The oceanic crust of the Earth
- 9 The Hadean crust of the Earth
- 10 The Archean crust of the Earth
- 11 The Post-Archean continental crust
- 12 Composition and evolution of the continental crust
- 13 Crusts on minor bodies
- 14 Reflections: the elusive patterns of planetary crusts
- Indexes
- References
Summary
It is difficult to calculate what the composition of the crust of the Earth is in any reliable way
(Harold Urey)The composition of the upper part of the continental crust is well established, but it is so enriched in incompatible elements and the heat-producing elements K, U and Th in particular, that it cannot be representative of the entire crust. Unfortunately the inaccessible and largely unknown nature of the lower continental crust makes it more difficult to determine the overall crustal composition so that elements of model-dependency enter the discussion. Because the crust is a significant reservoir for many elements, understanding its overall chemical composition is of fundamental importance to geochemistry as these data place constraints on the basic processes of crustal growth, differentiation and evolution of the mantle.
Because of these restrictions, indirect evidence from the geophysical disciplines (e.g. heat flow, seismology) has to be employed mostly to obtain the bulk composition of the continental crust. So in contrast to upper crustal abundances where there is a consensus, the chemical composition of the bulk crust is much more controversial, with recent models covering a broad range from basalt through to dacite (Fig. 12.1).
However, compositions at both extremes encounter a variety of problems that are difficult to reconcile with known crustal characteristics. In our opinion, the combination of constraints imposed by the upper crustal composition, heat flow and geochemistry yields reliable compositions for the bulk crust.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Planetary CrustsTheir Composition, Origin and Evolution, pp. 301 - 324Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008
References
et al. (2006) Composition, differentiation and evolution of continental crust: Constraints from sedimentary rocks and heat flow, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 92–134Google Scholar
(2006) Crustal generation in the Archean, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 173–230
and (2006) The significance of Phanerozoic arc magmatism in generating continental crust, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 135–72Google Scholar
and (1993) A global analysis of heat flow from Precambrian terrains. Journal of Geophysical Research 98, 12,207–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2003) Constraints from crustal heat production from heat flow data, in Treatise on Geochemistry (eds. and ), Elsevier, sect. 3.2, pp. 65–84
and (1993) A global analysis of heat flow from Precambrian terrains. Journal of Geophysical Research 98, 12,207–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1978) Heat loss from the Earth. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 40, 301–15CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (1998) Thermal structure, thickness and composition of continental lithosphere. Chem. Geol. 145, 395–411CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1993) A global analysis of heat flow from Precambrian terrains. Journal of Geophysical Research 98, 12,207–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2003) Constraints from crustal heat production from heat flow data, in Treatise on Geochemistry (eds. and ), Elsevier, sect. 3.2, pp. 65–84
and (2005) Earth's heat flux revised and linked to chemistry. Tectonophysics 395, 159–77CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2005) Comments on “Earth's heat flux revised and linked to chemistry”. Tectonophysics 409, 193–8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2006) Composition, differentiation and evolution of continental crust: Constraints from sedimentary rocks and heat flow, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 92–134Google Scholar
and (1993) A global analysis of heat flow from Precambrian terrains. Journal of Geophysical Research 98, 12,207–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2006) Composition, differentiation and evolution of continental crust: Constraints from sedimentary rocks and heat flow, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 92–134Google Scholar
and (1995) The geochemical evolution of the continental crust. Rev. Geophys. 33, 241–65CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1996) Heat flow and the chemical composition of the continental crust. J. Geol. 104, 377–96CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2001) Relationship between the trace element composition of sedimentary rocks and upper continental crust. Geochem. Geophys. Geosystems 2, doi: 10.1029/2000GC000109CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2002) Chemical composition and element distribution in the Earth's crust. Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology (ed. ), Academic Press, vol. 2, pp. 697–719Google Scholar
(1977) Island arc models and the composition of the continental crust. Amer. Geophys. Union Maurice Ewing Series I, 325–35CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1979) The composition and evolution of the continental crust: The rare earth element evidence, in The Earth: Its Origin, Structure and Evolution (ed. ), Academic Press, ch. 11, pp. 353–76Google Scholar
(1947) The Pulse of the Earth, 2nd edn., Nijhoff, ch. 3, pp. 144–216
(1995) Genesis of high Mg# andesites and the continental crust. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 120, 1–19CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2006) Melting of the continental crust: Fluid regimes, melting reactions and source rock fertility, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 296–330Google Scholar
(1981) Island arc magmatism in relation to the evolution of the crust and mantle. Tectonophysics 75, 113–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (1990) Mass balance calculations for two sections of island arc crust and implications for the origin of continents. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 96, 427–42CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1991) Creation and destruction of continental crust. Geol. Rundsch. 80, 259–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2001) On the conditions for lower crustal convective instability. Journal of Geophysical Research 106 (B4), 6423–46CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2004) Recycling lower continental crust in the North China craton. Nature 432, 892–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
et al. (1998) How mafic is the lower continental crust?Earth and Planetary Science Letters 161, 101–17CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2007) The return of subducted continental crust in Samoan lavas. Nature 448, 684–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
(2003) Use and abuse of the terms calc-alkaline and calc-alkalic. J. Petrology 44, 929–35CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2004) Evolution of arc magmas and their volatiles. American Geophysical Union Geophys. Monograph 150, 95–108Google Scholar
and (2006) The significance of Phanerozoic arc magmatism in generating continental crust, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 135–72
and (1988) Crustal contributions to arc magmatism in the Andes of Central Chile. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 98, 455–89CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (1996) Continental crust, crustal underplating and low-Q upper mantle beneath an oceanic island arc. Science 271, 390–2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (1998) Nature and growth rate of the northern Isu-Bonin (Ogasawara) arc crust and their implications for continental crust formation. The Island Arc 7, 395–407CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (1998) Implications from the seismic crustal structure of the northern Izu-Bonin arc. The Island Arc, 7, 383–94CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1999) Structure of an island-arc: Wide-angle seismic studies in the eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Journal of Geophysical Research 104, 10,667–94CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2002) Constraints on the bulk composition and root foundering rates of continental arcs: A California perspective. Journal of Geophysical Research 107, doi: 10.1029/2001JB000643CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2004) Tonga Ridge and Lau Basin crustal structure from seismic refraction data. Journal of Geophysical Research 108, doi: 10.1029/2001JB001435Google Scholar
et al. (1999) Structure and composition of the Aleutian island arc and implications for continental crustal growth. Geology 27, 31–42.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2006) Stability of arc lower crust: Insights from the Talkeetna arc section, south central Alaska and the seismic structure of modern arcs. Journal of Geophysical Research 111, doi: 10.1029/2006JB00432CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2007) Trench-parallel anisotropy produced by foundering of arc lower crust. Science 317, 108–11CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and (2005) Ancient subduction, mantle eclogite and the 300 km seismic discontinuity. Geology 33, 1–4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2006) The significance of Phanerozoic arc magmatism in generating continental crust, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 135–72Google Scholar
et al. (1996) Continental crust, crustal underplating and low-Q upper mantle beneath an oceanic island arc. Science 272, 390–2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2003) Tonga Ridge and Lau Basin crustal structure from seismic refraction data. Journal of Geophysical Research 108, doi: 10.1029/2001JB001435CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1997) Distribution of radiogenic heat generation in the arc's crust of the Hokkaido Island, Japan. Geophysical Research Letters 24, 1279–82CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1984) Phanerozoic addition rates to continental crust and crustal growth. Tectonics 3, 63–77CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1991) Observations at convergent margins concerning sediment subduction, subduction erosion and the growth of continental crust. Rev. Geophys. 29, 279–316CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2004) Evolution of arc magmas and their volatiles. American Geophysical Union Geophys. Monograph 150, 95–108Google Scholar
and (1998) The chemical composition of subducting sediment and its consequences for the crust and mantle. Chem. Geol. 145, 325–94CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2006) The significance of Phanerozoic arc magmatism in generating continental crust, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 135–72
(2006) Melting of the continental crust: Fluid regimes, melting reactions and source rock fertility, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 296–330Google Scholar
and (1970) The production of granitic melts during ultrametamorphism. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 28, 310–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1984) Source rocks of I- and S-type granites in the Lachlan Fold Belt, southeastern Australia. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. A310, 693–707CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1981) The New England batholith, eastern Australia: Geochemical variations in space and time. Journal of Geophysical Research 86, 10,530–44CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1977) Two “S-type” granite suites with low initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios from the New England batholith, Australia. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 61, 163–73CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1985) The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution, Blackwell, pp. 218–24Google Scholar
et al. (2004) Trans. Royal Soc. Edinburgh 95, 124–38
(2006) Melting of the continental crust: Fluid regimes, melting reactions and source rock fertility, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 296–330Google Scholar
and (1995) Dehydration-melting of biotite gneiss and quartz amphibolite from 3 to 15 kbar. J. Petrol. 37, 707–38CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1981) The New England batholith, eastern Australia: Geochemical variations in space and time. Journal of Geophysical Research 86, 10,530–44CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2007) Magmatic and crustal differentiation history of granitic rocks from Hf–O isotopes in zircon. Science 315, 980–3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and (2002) Extraterrestrial influences on mantle plume activity. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 205, 53–62CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (1981) Continental accretion and orogeny: From oceanic plateaux to allochthonous terranes. Science 213, 47–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1995) Nature and composition of the continental crust: A lower crustal perspective. Rev. Geophys. 33, 267–309CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1992) Restites, Eu anomalies and the lower continental crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 56, 963–70CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (1993) Nd and Sr isotope chronology of Colorado Plateau lithosphere: Implications for magmatic and tectonic underplating of the continental crust. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 116, 23–43CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (1992) Mantle plumes and continental tectonics. Science 256, 186–93CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and (1966) Composition and evolution of the continental crust as suggested by seismic observations. Tectonophysics 3, 547–57CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1995) Nature and composition of the continental crust: A lower crustal perspective. Rev. Geophys. 33, 267–309CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1995) The composition of the continental crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 59, 1217–32CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1999) The crust of the Colorado Plateau: New views of an old arc. J. Geol. 107, 387–97CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2003) Composition of the continental crust., in Treatise on Geochemistry (eds. and ), Elsevier, vol. 3, pp. 1–64Google Scholar
and (1996) Heat flow and the chemical composition of the continental crust. J. Geol. 104, 377–96CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1995) Nature and composition of the continental crust: A lower crustal perspective. Rev. Geophys. 33, 267–309CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1995) The composition of the continental crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 59, 1217–32CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1999) The crust of the Colorado Plateau: New views of an old arc. J. Geol. 107, 387–97CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2003) Composition of the continental crust, in Treatise on Geochemistry (eds. and ), Elsevier, vol. 3, pp. 1–64
and (1996) Heat flow and the chemical composition of the continental crust. J. Geol. 104, 377–96CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2006) Composition, differentiation and evolution of continental crust: Constraints from sedimentary rocks and heat flow, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 92–134
and (1995) Dehydration melting of metabasalt at 8–32 kbar: Implications for continental growth and crust-mantle recycling. J. Petrology 36, 891–931CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1991) Creation and destruction of lower continental crust. Geol. Rundsch. 80, 259–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2006) The significance of Phanerozoic arc magmatism in generating continental crust, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 135–72
(1978) Age and isotopic evidence for the evolution of the continental crust. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. A288, 401–13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1981) The composition and evolution of the continental crust: Rare earth element evidence from sedimentary rocks. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. A288, 381–99CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1981) Radiogenic isotopes: The case for crustal recycling on a near-steady-state no-continental-growth Earth. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. A288, 443–72CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1978) The evolution of the Earth's crust: Modern plate tectonics to ancient hot spot tectonics. Chem. Geol. 23, 89–114CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (1996) Constraints on early Earth differentiation from hafnium and neodymium isotopes. Nature 379, 624–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2005) 4.4 billion years of crustal maturation: Oxygen isotope ratios of magmatic zircon. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 150, 561–80CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1992) What determines the volume of the oceans. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 109, 507–15CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
(1991) Interrelationships between continental freeboard, tectonics and mantle temperature. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 105, 214–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1983) Continental freeboard, sedimentation rates and growth of continental crust. Nature 306, 169–72CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1974) Continental margins, freeboard, and the volumes of continents and oceans through time, in The Geology of Continental Margins (eds. and ), Springer-Verlag, pp. 45–58CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1981) Radiogenic isotopes: The case for crustal recycling on a near-steady-state no-continental-growth Earth. Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. A288, 443–72CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2007) The return of subducted continental crust in Samoan lavas. Nature 448, 684–7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and (1992) Samarium/neodymium elemental and isotopic systematics in sedimentary rocks. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 56, 169–200CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1992) The supercontinent cycle and Gondwanaland assembly: Component cratons and the timing of suturing events. J. Geodynamics 16, 215–40CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1991) Sedimentary rocks and crustal evolution: Tectonic setting and secular trends. J. Geol. 99, 1–21CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1994) On the breakup and coalescence of continents. Geology 22, 103–62.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1994) Large igneous provinces: Crustal structure, dimensions and external consequences. Rev. Geophys. 32, 1–36CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(2004) Mantle mixing and continental breakup magmatism. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 218, 463–73CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (1992) Magmatism and the Causes of Continental Breakup. Geological Society of London Special Publication 68Google Scholar
et al. (2006) Magma-maintained rift segmentation at continental rupture in the 2005 Afar dyking episode. Nature 442, 291–4CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
and (1995) Seismic velocity structure and composition of the continental crust: A global view. Journal of Geophysical Research 100, 9761–88CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1999) The crust of the Colorado Plateau: New views of an old arc. J. Geol. 107, 387–97CrossRefGoogle Scholar
et al. (2006) Composition, differentiation and evolution of continental crust: Constraints from sedimentary rocks and heat flow, in Evolution and Differentiation of the Continental Crust (eds. and ), Cambridge University Press, pp. 92–134Google Scholar
and (1996) Heat flow and the chemical composition of the continental crust. J. Geol. 104, 377–96CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1995) Nature and composition of the continental crust: A lower crustal perspective. Rev. Geophys. 33, 267–309CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (2003) Composition of the continental crust, in Treatise on Geochemistry (eds. and ), Elsevier, vol. 3, pp. 1–64Google Scholar
et al. (1986) Composition of the Canadian Precambrian shield and the continental crust of the Earth, in The Nature of the Continental Crust (eds. et al.), Geological Society of London Special Publication 24, pp. 275–82
and (1995) The geochemical evolution of the continental crust. Rev. Geophys. 33, 241–65CrossRefGoogle Scholar
and (1984) Empirical approach to estimate the composition of the continental crust. Nature 310, 575–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1991) Chemical composition and fractionation of the continental crust. Geol. Rundsch. 80, 207–23CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1995) The composition of the continental crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 59, 1217–32CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 3
- Cited by