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Bulk Silicate Earth

Synonyms

Primitive mantle composition (Acronyms: BSE)

Definition

Bulk Silicate Earth (BSE) refers to the original chemical composition of the silicate part of the Earth after the accretion and separation of a core but prior to differentiation of the first crust. For this reason, BSE is comparable to the composition of the Earth’s “primitive mantle.” There are several models to evaluate the BSE initial composition. The classic model is to infer BSE from the chemical composition of the most primitive, undifferentiated meteorites, i.e., the CI-class carbonaceous chondrites. Using this model, refractory lithophile elements (i.e., those which did not enter the core but remained in the silicate mantle) are given relative abundances as they occur in chondrites. Other models point to differences in ratios of 142Nd/144Nd and 3He/4He between primitive, mantle-derived lavas and chondrites to derive a somewhat different, nonchondritic composition of the primitive mantle.

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Keywords

  • Relative Abundance
  • Bioorganic Chemistry
  • Classic Model
  • Initial Composition
  • Primitive Mantle

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GEOTOP Research Center for Geochemistry and Geodynamics, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, succ. Centre-Ville, H3C 3P8, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Daniele L. Pinti

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  1. Daniele L. Pinti
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Correspondence to Daniele L. Pinti .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Pinti, D.L. (2014). Bulk Silicate Earth. In: , et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5237-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5237-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

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Chapter History

  1. Latest

    Bulk Silicate Earth
    Published:
    07 December 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5237-2

  2. Original

    Bulk Silicate Earth
    Published:
    17 April 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_5237-1