The second edition of The Biomarker Guide is a fully updated and expanded version of this essential reference. Now in two volumes, it provides a comprehensive account of the role that biomarker technology plays both in petroleum exploration and in understanding Earth history and processes. Biomarkers and Isotopes in the Environment and Human History details the origins of biomarkers and introduces basic chemical principles relevant to their study. It discusses analytical techniques, and applications of biomarkers to environmental and archaeological problems. The Biomarker Guide is an invaluable resource for geologists, petroleum geochemists, biogeochemists, environmental scientists and archaeologists.

The Biomarker Guide

Applications of steranes, terpanes and monoaromatics to the maturation, migration and source of crude oils

Crude oils of nonmarine source can be distinguished from those of marine shale source and from oils originating in marine carbonate sequences by using a battery of geochemical parameters, as demonstrated with a sample suite of nearly 40 oils. A novel parameter based on the presence of C30 steranes in the oil was found to be a definitive indication of a contribution to the source from marine-derived organic matter. A second novel parameter based on monoaromatized steroid distributions was effective in helping to distinguish nonmarine from marine crudes and can be used to gauge relative amounts of higher plant input to oils within a given basin. Sterane distributions were similarly useful for detecting higher plant input but were less effective than monoaromatize steroid distributions for making marine versus nonmarine distinctions. Concentrations of high molecular-weight paraffin can also be effective nonmarine indicators but are influenced by maturation and biodegradation processes. Certain algal-derived nonmarine oils may show little high molecular-weight paraffin response. Oils from carbonate sources (with a few exceptions) can be distinguished by having low pristane-phytane ratios, low carbon preference indexes, and high sulfur contents. Gammacerane indexes and carbon isotope ratios of the whole crude are not effective in distinguishing these types of environmental differences on a global basis.

Relationship Between Petroleum Composition and Depositional Environment of Petroleum Source Rocks

Preface 1 Carbon, the Earth and life: 11 Carbon and the basic requirements of life12 Chemical elements, simple compounds and their origins13 The origin of life14 Evolution of life and the atmosphere15 Major contributors to sedimentary organic matter 2 Chemical composition of biogenic matter: 21 Structure of natural products22 Carbohydrates23 Amino acids and proteins24 Lipids25 Lignins, tannins and related compounds26 Nucleotides and nucleic acids27 Geochemical implicatiions of compositional variation 3 Production, preservation and degradation of organic matter: 31 How and why organic-rich deposits form32 Controls on primary production33 Preservation and degradation of organic matter34 Depositional environments associated with accumulation of organic matter 4 Long-term fate of organic matter in the geosphere: 41 Diagenesis42 Humic material43 Coal44 Kerogen45 Catagenesis and metagenesis46 Temporal and geographical distribution of fossil organic carbon 5 Chemical stratigraphy 51 Biologically mediated transformations52 Examples of source indicators in recent sediments53 Diagenesis at the molecular level54 Source and environment indicators in ancient sediments and oil55 Thermal maturity and molecular transformations56 Palaeotemperature and age measurement57 Maturity of ancient sedimentary organic matter58 Isotopic palaeontology 6 The carbon cycle and climate 61 Global carbon cycle62 Changes in carbon reservoirs over geological time63 Palaeoclimatic variations64 Isotopic excursions at period boundaries65 Human influence on the carbon cycle 7 Anthropogenic carbon and the environment 71 Introduction72 Halocarbons73 Hydrocarbon pollution in aquatic environments74 Endocrine disrupting chemicals75 Environmental behaviour of selected xenobiotic compounds76 Factors affecting the rate of anthropogenic components Appendix 1: SI units usedAppendix 2: SI unit prefixesAppendix 3: Geological timescaleReferencesIndex

An introduction to organic geochemistry

The organic geochemistry of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether lipids: A review

Whether or not a suspected source-rock has experienced sufficient thermal stress to have generated petroleum can be determined by GCMS analysis of the terpanes using the following criteria in both the rock extract and the pyrolyzate: (1) 22S 22R ratio of C31C33 hopanes. (2) Concentration of C29C32 β,β hopanes. (3) Ratio of 17βH 17αH trisnorhopanes. (4) Ratio of moretanes/hopanes. (5) Yield of saturates in the pyrolyzates. The use of these parameters in combination is demonstrated with a sequence of suspected source rocks of different stratigraphic horizons from the same basin, ranging from immature/poor to mature/excellent. Of specific value is the subtle graduation, particularly in the pyrolyzates, of these parameters throughout the samples of different degrees of maturity. Cross-supplementing between parameters is demonstrated.

Wolfgang K. Seifert

Papers

Applications of steranes, terpanes and monoaromatics to the maturation, migration and source of crude oils

Relationship Between Petroleum Composition and Depositional Environment of Petroleum Source Rocks

The effect of thermal stress on source-rock quality as measured by hopane stereochemistry

The effect of biodegradation on steranes and terpanes in crude oils

Paleoreconstruction by Biological Markers