The distribution and redistribution of heat-producing elements in the continents

Abstract
Many geological data indicate that most sialic crust is of Archaean (> 2.5 Ga) age. Evidence also seems to agree for an early formation of a ‘protocrust’ concentrating the heat-producing elements. On the other hand if present day production of oceanic tholeiites can be assumed to have been constant through geologic time, and if their radioactive element content is gradually added to the continents, one could argue that the formation of continents has taken place at a reasonably constant rate. After presenting the relevant data the author discusses how the two apparently opposed views may be reconciled, and how secondary processes regulate the distribution of heat-producing elements in the continents.

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