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EVIDENCE THAT STABLE CARBON ISOTOPES ARE NOT A RELIABLE CRITERION FOR DISTINGUISHING BIOGENIC FROM NON‐BIOGENIC PETROLEUM
Author(s) -
Giardini A. A.,
Melton Charles E.
Publication year - 1982
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.1747-5457.1982.tb00553.x
Subject(s) - isotopes of carbon , meteorite , carbon fibers , geology , abundance (ecology) , stable isotope ratio , isotope , petroleum , environmental chemistry , mineralogy , paleontology , total organic carbon , chemistry , astrobiology , materials science , biology , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics , composite number , composite material
The isotopic abundance of presumably‐pristine primordial carbon has been determined by analyzing carbon dioxide entrapped in a 8.65 carat natural diamond of African origin. The results were 12 C = 98.9275% and 13 C = 1.0725%, which give δ 13 C = ‐35.2 ‰/00. This value is well within the range used to assign a biogenic origin to carbon‐containing compounds, i.e., more negative than ‐18.0‰/00. Similar negative values have been reported for some natural diamonds and carbon‐bearing meteorites. It is concluded, therefore, that stable carbon isotopes can be an unreliable criterion for assigning a biogenic origin to petroleum.