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dc.contributor.authorBeinlich, Andreas
dc.contributor.authorAustrheim, H.
dc.contributor.authorMavromatis, V.
dc.contributor.authorGrguric, B.
dc.contributor.authorPutnis, Christine
dc.contributor.authorPutnis, Andrew
dc.date.accessioned2018-02-19T07:59:43Z
dc.date.available2018-02-19T07:59:43Z
dc.date.created2018-02-19T07:13:38Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.identifier.citationBeinlich, A. and Austrheim, H. and Mavromatis, V. and Grguric, B. and Putnis, C. and Putnis, A. 2018. Peridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of Earth's continental crust composition. Nature Communications. 9: 634.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/65809
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/s41467-018-03039-9
dc.description.abstract

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.

dc.publisherMacmillan Publishers Limited
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.titlePeridotite weathering is the missing ingredient of Earth's continental crust composition
dc.typeJournal Article
dcterms.source.volume9
dcterms.source.number1
dcterms.source.issn2041-1723
dcterms.source.titleNature Communications
curtin.departmentThe Institute for Geoscience Research (TIGeR)
curtin.departmentSchool of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS)
curtin.departmentSchool of Molecular and Life Sciences (MLS)
curtin.accessStatusOpen access


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