Geochemistry (organic and inorganic)

Geochemistry is the study of the distribution and amounts of chemical elements in rocks, minerals, soils, fluids and gases in the Earth. Organic geochemistry pertains to the chemistry of carbon - the basic element of all life. Inorganic geochemistry pertains to the chemistry of all other elements. Living organisms are the precursors of petroleum and coal (fossil fuels), which are composed mainly of carbon and hydrogen (hydrocarbon molecules).

Geochemists help determine the probability of petroleum reservoirs occurring in sedimentary basins by studying chemical factors affecting the origin, migration and accumulation of hydrocarbons in the basins. They determine the characteristics of porous reservoir rocks by studying chemical alterations such as mineralization processes that occur during rock/water interactions. They determine possible environmental implications associated with the mining and combustion of coals by examining the amounts, distributions and mobilities of elements within coal measures. And they provide insight into the evolution of sedimentary basins by determining the thermal histories of rock units within the basins.

Petroleum forms from the progressive alteration of organic matter to kerogen through biological, chemical and physical processes (diagenesis), and from kerogen to oil and gas through various stages of thermal alteration (catagenesis and metagenesis). Coal is formed from land-derived organic matter (plants). Peat deposits can be coalified by heat and pressure over time following stratigraphic burial. Coalbed methane is a natural gas by-product of coal formation whereby coal is both the source and reservoir rock. The properties of different petroleums and coals can vary significantly depending on the type of original organic precursors, thermal history, and various biological, ecological and geochemical factors.

Petroleum articles

Laboratories

Expertise in geochemistry

Emeritus