Introduction to Organic Geochemistry

Abstract

Preface 1 Carbon, the Earth and life: 1.1 Carbon and the basic requirements of life1.2 Chemical elements, simple compounds and their origins1.3 The origin of life1.4 Evolution of life and the atmosphere1.5 Major contributors to sedimentary organic matter 2 Chemical composition of biogenic matter: 2.1 Structure of natural products2.2 Carbohydrates2.3 Amino acids and proteins2.4 Lipids2.5 Lignins, tannins and related compounds2.6 Nucleotides and nucleic acids2.7 Geochemical implicatiions of compositional variation 3 Production, preservation and degradation of organic matter: 3.1 How and why organic-rich deposits form3.2 Controls on primary production3.3 Preservation and degradation of organic matter3.4 Depositional environments associated with accumulation of organic matter 4 Long-term fate of organic matter in the geosphere: 4.1 Diagenesis4.2 Humic material4.3 Coal4.4 Kerogen4.5 Catagenesis and metagenesis4.6 Temporal and geographical distribution of fossil organic carbon 5 Chemical stratigraphy 5.1 Biologically mediated transformations5.2 Examples of source indicators in recent sediments5.3 Diagenesis at the molecular level5.4 Source and environment indicators in ancient sediments and oil5.5 Thermal maturity and molecular transformations5.6 Palaeotemperature and age measurement5.7 Maturity of ancient sedimentary organic matter5.8 Isotopic palaeontology 6 The carbon cycle and climate 6.1 Global carbon cycle6.2 Changes in carbon reservoirs over geological time6.3 Palaeoclimatic variations6.4 Isotopic excursions at period boundaries6.5 Human influence on the carbon cycle 7 Anthropogenic carbon and the environment 7.1 Introduction7.2 Halocarbons7.3 Hydrocarbon pollution in aquatic environments7.4 Endocrine disrupting chemicals7.5 Environmental behaviour of selected xenobiotic compounds7.6 Factors affecting the rate of anthropogenic components Appendix 1: SI units usedAppendix 2: SI unit prefixesAppendix 3: Geological timescaleReferencesIndex