Telluric

The adjective telluric is derived from a Latin word for earth or Mother Earth, "Tellus", and is used in terms related to the Earth such as:

• telluric planet (a planet which is Earth-like in the sense that it is primarily composed of silicate rocks)
• telluric current (an extremely low frequency electrical current that occurs naturally over large underground areas at or near the surface of the Earth).
• telluric contamination (contamination of a spectrum in astronomical spectroscopy by absorption or emission happening in the atmosphere of the Earth).

However, it is sometimes also used in relation to tellurium, which is a relatively rare element, in the same chemical family as oxygen, sulfur, selenium, and polonium, e.g. telluric acid.