Premium
EXPERIMENTALLY‐BASED ARGUMENTS SUPPORTING LARGE CRUSTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF NON‐BIOGENIC PETROLEUM
Author(s) -
Giardini A. A.,
Melton Charles E.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of petroleum geology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.725
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1747-5457
pISSN - 0141-6421
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-5457.1981.tb00533.x
Subject(s) - geology , crust , petroleum , mantle (geology) , diffusion , earth (classical element) , geochemistry , atmosphere (unit) , earth science , paleontology , thermodynamics , physics , mathematical physics
The evolution of the Earth's atmosphere has been explained by a diffusion model that obeys first order kinetics. By assuming that the same rate law governs the diffusion of petroleum compounds that are known to exist in the upper mantle, we find that 1.5 × 10 15 tons have diffused out during the past 3.1 billion years. If 0.1% of this primordial petroleum has undergone crustal migration and entrapment, deposits totalling 1.5 × 10 12 tons are now present in the Earth's crust. Assigning a 0.3 recovery factor, this is equivalent to about 3 trillion barrels.