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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
Silicon is the eighth most common element in the universe by mass, but very rarely occurs in its pure form in the Earth's crust. It is widely distributed throughout space in cosmic dusts , planetoids , and planets as various forms of silicon dioxide (silica) or silicates .
Other elements occur at less than 0.15%. For a full list, see abundance of elements in Earth's crust. The graph at right illustrates the relative atomic-abundance of the chemical elements in Earth's upper continental crust—the part that is relatively accessible for measurements and estimation.
About 95% of the Earth's crustal rocks are made of silica or silicate and aluminosilicate minerals, as reflected in oxygen, silicon, and aluminium being the three most common elements in the crust (in that order). [15] Measured by mass, silicon makes up 27.7% of the Earth's crust. [16]
Silicon is the eighth most abundant element in the universe and the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust (the most abundant is oxygen). The weathering of the Earth's crust by rainwater rich in carbon dioxide is a key process in the control of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
A.B. Ronov, A.A. Yaroshevsky, Earth's Crust Geochemistry, in Encyclopedia of Geochemistry and Environmental Sciences, R.W. Fairbridge (ed.), Van Nostrand, New York, (1969). Estimated abundance of the elements in the continental crust (C1) and in seawater near the surface (W1). The median values of reported measurements are given.
Silicon is present in the Earth's crust at concentrations of 28%, making it the second most abundant element there. Silicon's concentration in seawater can vary from 30 parts per billion on the surface of the ocean to 2000 parts per billion deeper down. Silicon dust occurs in trace amounts in Earth's atmosphere.
Continental crust is a tertiary crust, formed at subduction zones through recycling of subducted secondary (oceanic) crust. [17] The average age of Earth's current continental crust has been estimated to be about 2.0 billion years. [20] Most crustal rocks formed before 2.5 billion years ago are located in cratons.