Calcium compounds can be found in a variety of minerals, including limestone (calcium carbonate), gypsum (calcium sulphate) and fluorite (calcium fluoride).Ĭalcium compounds are widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries for supplementation. It is never found in its isolated state in nature but exists instead in compounds. In its pure elemental state, calcium is a soft, silvery-white alkaline earth metal. #5: CalciumĬalcium makes up about 4.2% of the planet’s crust by weight. Iron is also an essential nutrient in the human body. Of all the metals we mine, over 90% is iron, mainly to make steel, an alloy of carbon and iron. Iron is obtained chiefly from the minerals hematite and magnetite. The fourth most common element in the Earth’s crust is iron, accounting for over 5% of the mass of the Earth’s crust. Aluminum oxide (Al2O3), aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3) and potassium aluminum sulphate (KAl(SO4)2) are common aluminum compounds.Īluminum and aluminum alloys have a variety of uses, from kitchen foil to rocket manufacturing. #3: AluminumĪluminum is the third most common element in the Earth’s crust.īecause of its strong affinity for oxygen, aluminum is rarely found in its elemental state. Silicon is an essential semiconductor, used in manufacturing electronics and computer chips. For example, in most places, sand primarily consists of silica (silicon dioxide) usually in the form of quartz. Silicon links up with oxygen to form the most common minerals on Earth. More than 90% of the Earth’s crust is composed of silicate minerals, making silicon the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. Some examples of common oxides are minerals such as granite and quartz (oxides of silicon), rust (oxides of iron), and limestone (oxide of calcium and carbon). Oxygen is a highly reactive element that combines with other elements, forming oxides. Oxygen is by far the most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, making up 46% of mass-coming up just short of half of the total. While gold, silver, copper and other base and precious metals are among the most sought after elements, together they make up less than 0.03% of the Earth’s crust by mass. Oxygen, silicon, aluminum, and iron account for 88.1% of the mass of the Earth’s crust, while another 90 elements make up the remaining 11.9%. The Earth’s crust comprises about 95% igneous and metamorphic rocks, 4% shale, 0.75% sandstone, and 0.25% limestone. Most elements are found in only trace amounts within the Earth’s crust, but several are abundant. The crust is a rigid surface containing both the oceans and landmasses.
This infographic takes a look at what elements make up this 1%, based on data from WorldAtlas. Representing the remaining 1% is the crust, a thin layer that ranges in depth from approximately 5-70 km (~3-44 miles).
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Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.Įlements in the Earth’s crust provide all the basic building blocks for mankind.īut even though the crust is the source of everything we find, mine, refine, and build, it really is just scratching the surface of our planet.Īfter all, the innermost layer of the Earth, the core, represents 15% of the planet’s volume, whereas the mantle occupies 84%. Visualizing the Abundance of Elements in the Earth’s Crust
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