Theabundance of elements in Earth's crust is shown in tabulated form with the estimatedcrustal abundance for eachchemical element shown as mg/kg, orparts per million (ppm) bymass (10,000 ppm = 1%).
The Earth's crust is one "reservoir" for measurements of abundance. A reservoir is any large body to be studied as unit, like the ocean, atmosphere, mantle or crust. Different reservoirs may have different relative amounts of each element due to different chemical or mechanical processes involved in the creation of the reservoir.[1]: 18
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.[2] The composition of the Earth changed after its formation due to loss of volatile compounds, melting and recrystalization, selective loss of some elements to the deep interior, and erosion by water.[3]: 55 Thelanthanides are especially difficult to measure accurately.[4]
Graphs of abundance against atomic number can reveal patterns relating abundance tostellar nucleosynthesis andgeochemistry.The alternation of abundance between even and odd atomic number is known as theOddo–Harkins rule. The rarest elements in the crust are not the heaviest, but are rather thesiderophile elements (iron-loving) in theGoldschmidt classification of elements. These have been depleted by being relocated deeper into the Earth's core; their abundance inmeteoroids is higher. Tellurium and selenium are concentrated as sulfides in the core and have also been depleted by preaccretional sorting in the nebula that caused them to form volatilehydrogen selenide andhydrogen telluride.[6]
This table gives the estimated abundance in parts per million by mass of elements in the continental crust; values of the less abundant elements may vary with location by several orders of magnitude.[7]
| Lithophile | Siderophile | Atmophile | Chalcophile | Trace |
| Z | Element | Symbol | Goldschmidt classification | Abundance (ppm)[7] | Extraction tonnes/year[8] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | oxygen | O | Lithophile | 461,000 (46.1%) | 10,335,000 | [9] |
| 14 | silicon | Si | Lithophile | 282,000 (28.2%) | 7,200,000 | |
| 13 | aluminium | Al | Lithophile | 82,300 (8.23%) | 57,600,000 | |
| 26 | iron | Fe | Siderophile | 56,300 (5.63%) | 1,150,000,000 | |
| 20 | calcium | Ca | Lithophile | 41,500 (4.15%) | 18,000 | |
| 11 | sodium | Na | Lithophile | 23,600 (2.36%) | 255,000,000 | |
| 12 | magnesium | Mg | Lithophile | 23,300 (2.33%) | 27,700,000 | |
| 19 | potassium | K | Lithophile | 20,900 (2.09%) | 53,200,000 | [10] |
| 22 | titanium | Ti | Lithophile | 5,650 (0.565%) | 6,600,000 | |
| 1 | hydrogen | H | Atmophile | 1,400 (0.14%) | 75,000,000 | [11] |
| 15 | phosphorus | P | Lithophile | 1,050 (0.105%) | 226,000,000 | [12] |
| 25 | manganese | Mn | Lithophile | 950 (0.095%) | 16,000,000 | |
| 9 | fluorine | F | Lithophile | 585 (0.0585%) | 17,000 | |
| 56 | barium | Ba | Lithophile | 425 (0.0425%) | 6,000,000 | [13] |
| 38 | strontium | Sr | Lithophile | 370 (0.037%) | 350,000 | |
| 16 | sulfur | S | Chalcophile | 350 (0.035%) | 69,300,000 | |
| 6 | carbon | C | Atmophile | 200 (0.02%) | 9,700,000,000 | |
| 40 | zirconium | Zr | Lithophile | 165 (0.0165%) | 1,460,000 | |
| 17 | chlorine | Cl | Lithophile | 145 (0.0145%) | 71,250,000 | [14] |
| 23 | vanadium | V | Lithophile | 120 (0.012%) | 76,000 | |
| 24 | chromium | Cr | Lithophile | 102 (0.0102%) | 26,000,000 | |
| 37 | rubidium | Rb | Lithophile | 90 (0.009%) | 2 | |
| 28 | nickel | Ni | Siderophile | 84 (0.0084%) | 2,250,000 | |
| 30 | zinc | Zn | Chalcophile | 70 (0.007%) | 11,900,000 | |
| 58 | cerium | Ce | Lithophile | 66.5 (0.00665%) | 24,000 | [15] |
| 29 | copper | Cu | Chalcophile | 60 (0.006%) | 19,400,000 | |
| 60 | neodymium | Nd | Lithophile | 41.5 (0.00415%) | 7,000 | [16] |
| 57 | lanthanum | La | Lithophile | 39 (0.0039%) | 12,500 | [17] |
| 39 | yttrium | Y | Lithophile | 33 (0.0033%) | 6,000 | |
| 27 | cobalt | Co | Siderophile | 25 (0.0025%) | 123,000 | |
| 21 | scandium | Sc | Lithophile | 22 (0.0022%) | 14 | [18] |
| 3 | lithium | Li | Lithophile | 20 (0.002%) | 35,000 | |
| 41 | niobium | Nb | Lithophile | 20 (0.002%) | 64,000 | |
| 7 | nitrogen | N | Atmophile | 19 (0.0019%) | 140,000,000 | |
| 31 | gallium | Ga | Chalcophile | 19 (0.0019%) | 315 | |
| 82 | lead | Pb | Chalcophile | 14 (0.0014%) | 4,820,000 | |
| 5 | boron | B | Lithophile | 10 (0.001%) | 9,400,000 | |
| 90 | thorium | Th | Lithophile | 9.6 (0.00096%) | 5,000 | [19] |
| 59 | praseodymium | Pr | Lithophile | 9.2 (0.00092%) | 2,500 | [20] |
| 62 | samarium | Sm | Lithophile | 7.05 (0.000705%) | 700 | [21] |
| 64 | gadolinium | Gd | Lithophile | 6.2 (0.00062%) | 400 | [22] |
| 66 | dysprosium | Dy | Lithophile | 5.2 (0.00052%) | 0.2 | [23] |
| 68 | erbium | Er | Lithophile | 3.5 (0.00035%) | 500 | [24] |
| 18 | argon | Ar | Atmophile | 3.5 (0.00035%) | ||
| 70 | ytterbium | Yb | Lithophile | 3.2 (0.00032%) | ||
| 72 | hafnium | Hf | Lithophile | 3.0 (0.0003%) | 35 | [25] |
| 55 | caesium | Cs | Lithophile | 3.0 (0.0003%) | ||
| 4 | beryllium | Be | Lithophile | 2.8 (0.00028%) | 220 | |
| 92 | uranium | U | Lithophile | 2.7 (0.00027%) | 74,119 | |
| 35 | bromine | Br | Lithophile | 2.4 (0.00024%) | 391,000 | |
| 50 | tin | Sn | Chalcophile | 2.3 (0.00023%) | 280,000 | |
| 73 | tantalum | Ta | Lithophile | 2.0 (0.0002%) | 1,100 | |
| 63 | europium | Eu | Lithophile | 2.0 (0.0002%) | 35.8 | [26] |
| 33 | arsenic | As | Chalcophile | 1.8 (0.00018%) | 36,500 | |
| 32 | germanium | Ge | Chalcophile | 1.5 (0.00015%) | 155 | |
| 67 | holmium | Ho | Lithophile | 1.3 (0.00013%) | ||
| 74 | tungsten | W | Siderophile | 1.25 (0.000125%) | 86,400 | |
| 42 | molybdenum | Mo | Siderophile | 1.2 (0.00012%) | 227,000 | |
| 65 | terbium | Tb | Lithophile | 1.2 (0.00012%) | ||
| 81 | thallium | Tl | Chalcophile | 0.85 (8.5×10−5%) | 10 | |
| 71 | lutetium | Lu | Lithophile | 0.8 (8×10−5%) | ||
| 69 | thulium | Tm | Lithophile | 0.52 (5.2×10−5%) | ||
| 53 | iodine | I | Lithophile | 0.45 (4.5×10−5%) | 31,600 | |
| 49 | indium | In | Chalcophile | 0.25 (2.5×10−5%) | 655 | |
| 51 | antimony | Sb | Chalcophile | 0.2 (2×10−5%) | 130,000 | |
| 48 | cadmium | Cd | Chalcophile | 0.15 (1.5×10−5%) | 23,000 | |
| 80 | mercury | Hg | Chalcophile | 0.085 (8.5×10−6%) | 4,500 | |
| 47 | silver | Ag | Chalcophile | 0.075 (7.5×10−6%) | 27,000 | |
| 34 | selenium | Se | Chalcophile | 0.05 (5×10−6%) | 2,200 | |
| 46 | palladium | Pd | Siderophile | 0.015 (1.5×10−6%) | 208 | |
| 83 | bismuth | Bi | Chalcophile | 0.0085 (8.5×10−7%) | 10,200 | |
| 2 | helium | He | Atmophile | 0.008 (8×10−7%) | ||
| 10 | neon | Ne | Atmophile | 0.005 (5×10−7%) | ||
| 78 | platinum | Pt | Siderophile | 0.005 (5×10−7%) | 172 | |
| 79 | gold | Au | Siderophile | 0.004 (4×10−7%) | 3,100 | |
| 76 | osmium | Os | Siderophile | 0.0015 (1.5×10−7%) | ||
| 52 | tellurium | Te | Chalcophile | 0.001 (1×10−7%) | 2,200 | |
| 44 | ruthenium | Ru | Siderophile | 0.001 (1×10−7%) | 30 | |
| 77 | iridium | Ir | Siderophile | 0.001 (1×10−7%) | 7.3 | |
| 45 | rhodium | Rh | Siderophile | 0.001 (1×10−7%) | 30 | |
| 75 | rhenium | Re | Siderophile | 0.0007 (7×10−8%) | 47.2 | |
| 36 | krypton | Kr | Atmophile | 0.0001 (1×10−8%) | ||
| 54 | xenon | Xe | Atmophile | 3×10−5 (3×10−9%) | ||
| 91 | protactinium | Pa | trace | 1.4×10−6 (1.4×10−10%) | ||
| 88 | radium | Ra | trace | 9×10−7 (9×10−11%) | ||
| 89 | actinium | Ac | trace | 5.5×10−10 (6×10−14%) | ||
| 84 | polonium | Po | trace | 2×10−10 (2×10−14%) | ||
| 86 | radon | Rn | trace | 4×10−13 (4×10−17%) | ||
| 43 | technetium | Tc | trace | |||
| 61 | promethium | Pm | trace | |||
| 85 | astatine | At | trace | |||
| 87 | francium | Fr | trace | |||
| 94 | plutonium | Pu | trace | |||
| 93 | neptunium | Np | trace | |||
Examines the abundance and distribution of the chemical elements in the earth's crust, as well as the figures and methods that have contributed to this knowledge.