Earth Earth is metamorphic rock, which is created from the transformation of pre-existing rock types through high pressures, high temperatures, or both. The most abundant silicate minerals on Earth's surface include quartz, feldspars, amphibole, mica, pyroxene and olivine. Common carbonate minerals include calcite (found in limestone) and dolomite. The elevation of the land surface varies from the low point of at the Dead Sea, to a maximum altitude of at the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land above sea level is about . The pedosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's continental surface and is composed of soil
Potassium studies because potassium is a macronutrient required for life. Potassium is formed in supernovae by nucleosynthesis from lighter atoms. Potassium is principally created in Type II supernovae via an explosive oxygen-burning process. is also formed in s-process nucleosynthesis and the neon burning process. Potassium is the 20th most abundant element in the solar system and the 17th most abundant element by weight in the earth. It makes up about 2.6% of the weight of the earth's crust and is the seventh most abundant element in the crust. The potassium concentration in seawater is 0.39 g/L (0.039 wt/v%), about one twenty-seventh