Computer-derived geochemical balances and element abundances

Statistics – Computation

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

The classical geochemical equation or balance assumes that all sediments were ultimately derived from igneous rocks. Despite unproven assumptions and many uncertain data, the geochemical equation does provide a number of internal checks on elemental and isotopic abundance data. Utilizing high speed digital computers, a new approach to geochemical balancing has been developed. The input into the system consists of 1. (a) physical estimates (for example, volume) of six sedimentary and marine domains of the earth's crust; and 2. (b) minimum and maximum geochemical abundance data (derived from forty-four published lists) for sixtyfive elements in eight lithologic categories. Through the use of an optimization-iterative technique, the system generates as output 1. (a) total mass of weathered igneous rock, 2. (b) mass distribution of the elements within the geologic and marine domains, 3. (c) a list of those elements that could not be balanced and 4. (d) elemental abundance tables derived automatically from the optimized model. Although some aspects of the model are artificial, the computations do lead to an internally consistent estimate of abundances in the crust and major sedimentary rock types. The computations also indicate that 2 × 10 18 tons of igneous rock have weathered to form the sedimentary rocks of the earth's crust and ions dissolved in the ocean. The following elements cannot be brought into balance, probably due to important volcanic contributions and/or inadequate data: boron, sulfur, chlorine, manganese, arsenic, selenium, bromine, molybdenum, iodine and lead. The input into the system is left open for future revision.

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