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LITHOEN

Geochemical reservoir

Average crust

Also known as Earth's crust (average)

Earth’s crust treated as a single averaged composition, as crustal abundance compilations use the term. It does not distinguish continental from oceanic crust, and abundance figures quoted against it should not be read as applying to either specifically.

A logarithmic bar chart of average crustal abundance in parts per million for fifteen rare-earth elements, with light rare earths shown in one colour and heavy rare earths including yttrium in another.
Average crustal abundance for the fifteen rare earths, on a logarithmic scale. Cerium, the most abundant, is more common in the crust than copper or lead. What is rare about the rare earths is not the elements but the deposits.
Full description of this figure

Bar chart, logarithmic vertical axis in parts per million by mass. Values: lanthanum 39, cerium 66.5, praseodymium 9.2, neodymium 41.5, samarium 7.05, europium 2.0, gadolinium 6.2, yttrium 33, terbium 1.2, dysprosium 5.2, holmium 1.3, erbium 3.5, thulium 0.52, ytterbium 3.2, lutetium 0.8. Light rare earths are distinguished from heavy rare earths by colour, with yttrium grouped among the heavy ones. The reservoir is the crust taken as a single average; the source does not distinguish continental from oceanic crust. Promethium is omitted because it is extremely rare and unstable in nature.

Original Lithoen diagram · LITHOEN-ORIGINAL

Classification

scope
crust

How this record is known

6
Settled consensus
Cited as the accepted position of the discipline.

6 of 6 claims on this page cite at least one registered source. Counts describe how each statement is known, not how likely it is to be true.

What Lithoen records

Each claim states how it is known and cites its evidence.

EstablishedThe crust averaged as one body; continental and oceanic are not distinguished.

Average crustal abundance figures are quoted against the crust taken as one averaged body. The compilation they come from does not distinguish continental from oceanic crust, so a figure quoted against “the crust” cannot be transferred to either without further evidence.

  • precision note: Recorded because the coarseness of the reservoir is part of what the numbers mean.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Gosen 2017 Primary authority

Established66.5 ppm Cerium

The average crustal abundance of cerium is given as 66.5 parts per million by mass.

  • locality: Earth’s crust taken as a single average; the source does not distinguish continental from oceanic crust.
  • method: Compiled values, attributed by the report to Lide (2004, p. 17) rather than measured for it.
  • precision note: A single averaged figure for a heterogeneous body. It says nothing about the concentration at any particular place, and nothing about whether the element can be recovered anywhere.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Gosen 2017 Primary authority

Established39 ppm Lanthanum

The average crustal abundance of lanthanum is given as 39.0 parts per million by mass.

  • locality: Earth’s crust taken as a single average; the source does not distinguish continental from oceanic crust.
  • method: Compiled values, attributed by the report to Lide (2004, p. 17) rather than measured for it.
  • precision note: A single averaged figure for a heterogeneous body. It says nothing about the concentration at any particular place, and nothing about whether the element can be recovered anywhere.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Gosen 2017 Primary authority

Established0.8 ppm Lutetium

The average crustal abundance of lutetium is given as 0.8 parts per million by mass.

  • locality: Earth’s crust taken as a single average; the source does not distinguish continental from oceanic crust.
  • method: Compiled values, attributed by the report to Lide (2004, p. 17) rather than measured for it.
  • precision note: A single averaged figure for a heterogeneous body. It says nothing about the concentration at any particular place, and nothing about whether the element can be recovered anywhere.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Gosen 2017 Primary authority

Established41.5 ppm Neodymium

The average crustal abundance of neodymium is given as 41.5 parts per million by mass.

  • locality: Earth’s crust taken as a single average; the source does not distinguish continental from oceanic crust.
  • method: Compiled values, attributed by the report to Lide (2004, p. 17) rather than measured for it.
  • precision note: A single averaged figure for a heterogeneous body. It says nothing about the concentration at any particular place, and nothing about whether the element can be recovered anywhere.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Gosen 2017 Primary authority

Established33 ppm Yttrium

The average crustal abundance of yttrium is given as 33.0 parts per million by mass.

  • locality: Earth’s crust taken as a single average; the source does not distinguish continental from oceanic crust.
  • method: Compiled values, attributed by the report to Lide (2004, p. 17) rather than measured for it.
  • precision note: A single averaged figure for a heterogeneous body. It says nothing about the concentration at any particular place, and nothing about whether the element can be recovered anywhere.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Gosen 2017 Primary authority

In the knowledge graph

Record last updated 2026-09-06. Corrections follow the published corrections policy; superseded claims are retained, never silently edited.