- Email: [email protected]
1996 Australian organic geochemistry conference
by Elsevier Science Ltd Pripted in Great Britain 0146-6380196 $15.00 + 0.00
Published
Pergamon
1996 Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference JOHN
K. VOLKMAN’
and ROBERT
ALEXANDER2
‘CSIRO Division of Marine Research, GPO Box 1538. Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia and ‘Curtin University Technology, Centre for Petroleum and Environmental Organic Geochemistry, PO Box U1987. Perth, Western Australia 6001, Australia
of
The 1996 Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference was held on October 24 at Fremantle, on the coast near Perth, the capital city of the State of Western Australia. Fremantle is the ex-home of the America’s Cup and provided an appropriately relaxed setting for the conference. Over 60 delegates attended the meeting including a large number from the eastern states of Australia who were eager to escape from a cold and wet spring in eastern Australia to Perth’s sunny weather. The conference was organised by Professors Bob Alexander and Bob Kagi, with the enthusiastic assistance of Anna Heitz, Dr Ben van Aarssen and colleagues from Curtin University. The conference provided an excellent overview of the diversity of organic geochemical research being done in Australia with 35 oral presentations and 16 posters. A keynote lecture was delivered by Dr Roy Krouse from the University of Calgary who spoke on “sulphur isotope geochemistry of oil and gas deposits”. This talk was to have opened the conference, but delays caused by a certain overseas airline meant that Roger Summons had to move his talk on cyanobacterial lipids forward thus confirming his role as prime tester of the audio-visual systems that he established so well at the San Sebastian meeting. Talks were arranged into the following sessions: Isotope geochemistry (chaired by Professor Michael Wilson; 5 talks) Geochemistry of coal and humic materials in sediments (chaired by Professor Barry Batts; 3 talks) Petroleum geochemistry (chaired by Dr David McKirdy; 4 talks) Paleoclimate and paleoenvironments (chaired by Professor Bob Alexander; 4 talks) Biomarkers and geomacromolecules (chaired by Dr Roger Summons and Dr Simon George; 9 talks) Pollution and environmental geochemistry (chaired by Dr John Volkman; 5 talks) Analytical techniques and geochemical processes (chaired by Professor Bob Kagi; 5 talks) The quality of the talks presented was very high and the following discussions were often lively and stimulating. Space here does not permit a detailed list of all the talks and posters presented, but mention of a few of the talks will illustrate the range of topics covered. Roger Summons discussed the occurrence of branched alkanes and other biomarkers in cyanobacterial and showed that the amounts and isotopic composition depend on growth conditions. Graham Logan discussed possible reasons for the occurrence of carbon with a heavy isotope signature in Permian coals and shales and a light signature in Triassic rocks. Michael Wilson reviewed the forms of hydrogen in coal and demonstrated the exciting advances made in solid-state NMR techniques to distinguish aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, the fraction of aromatic carbon that is protonated and the average length of aliphatic chains. Chris Boreham showed how chemical kinetic calculations can be used to study the timing of oil and gas generation using examples from the Bowen Basin. A very stimulating talk was given by Andrew Murray who described how early diagenetic reactions and depositional environment determine the abundance of aliphatic and aromatic oleanoids in deltaic and lacustrine source rocks and oils. John Volkman showed from alkenone distributions that the surface waters of the Southern Ocean were 46°C cooler at the last glacial maximum while Bob Alexander discussed possible relationships between combustion-derived PAH in Triassic-Jurassic sediments and changes in paleoclimate. Andrew Revill presented some unusual hydrocarbon distributions in contemporary sediments while Ben van Aarssen revisited the origin of the Barrow sub-basin oils and demonstrated an Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic) source using higher plant markers such as cadalene and retene. Peter Nichols gave
ii
1996 Australian
Organic
Geochemistry
Conference
an overview of the advances being made by CSIRO in the use of coprostanol to identify and trace sources of faecal pollution in waterways. Student presentations are always strongly encouraged at AOGC meetings and this one was no exception. Excellent talks were given by Jamie Burgess (isotope biogeochemistry), Rosemary Paul1 (fernenes and fernanes), Junhong Chen (oils from the South China Sea), Mike Audino (bicyclic alkanes, Ben Warton (T-branched alkanes), Trevor Bastow (polymethylnapthalenes), Rino Troho (alkyldiphenylmethanes) and Cameron McIntyre (organic acids in groundwater). The prize for the “Best Presentation by a Student” was awarded to Mike Audino. The organisers also took the opportunity of including several speakers from industry, including Stephen Grocott from Alcoa, who described the problems associated with humic substances in bauxite refining, and Iva Stejskal from Apache Energy, who discussed some of the practical applications that environmental organic geochemistry can make to the oil and gas industry. Non-organic geochemists were also invited and we were treated to an excellent overview of the geological evolution of Australasia and its paleoclimate by Marita Bradshaw. Several presentations highlighted advances in instrumentation such as NMR (Michael Wilson), electrospray MS (Cameron McIntyre) and continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry which is now available in three Australian laboratories. Paul Greenwood gave an entertaining account of both a new method (laser micropyrolysis GC-MS) and a new discipline (petrographical chemistry) in which fluid inclusions are pyrolysed with a laser and the products analysed by GCMS. A feature of recent AOGC meetings has been the presentation of the Australian Organic Geochemistry medal which this year was awarded to Associate Professor David McKirdy (details are provided in the following item). David gave a talk entitled “Biomarker signatures of oils and source rocks from the Patchawarra Trough, Cooper-Eromanga Basin” in which he demonstrated the occurrence of several families of Jurassic-sourced oils, as well as those of Permian origin on which present exploration strategies are based. The next meeting will be held in Canberra in 1998. Further details can be obtained from: Dr Roger Summons, Australian Geological Survey Organistion, GPO Box 378 Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. Tel: +61-(0)6-2499515; Fax: +61-(0)6-2499956; E-mail: [email protected]
Published
Pergamon
1996 Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference JOHN
K. VOLKMAN’
and ROBERT
ALEXANDER2
‘CSIRO Division of Marine Research, GPO Box 1538. Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia and ‘Curtin University Technology, Centre for Petroleum and Environmental Organic Geochemistry, PO Box U1987. Perth, Western Australia 6001, Australia
of
The 1996 Australian Organic Geochemistry Conference was held on October 24 at Fremantle, on the coast near Perth, the capital city of the State of Western Australia. Fremantle is the ex-home of the America’s Cup and provided an appropriately relaxed setting for the conference. Over 60 delegates attended the meeting including a large number from the eastern states of Australia who were eager to escape from a cold and wet spring in eastern Australia to Perth’s sunny weather. The conference was organised by Professors Bob Alexander and Bob Kagi, with the enthusiastic assistance of Anna Heitz, Dr Ben van Aarssen and colleagues from Curtin University. The conference provided an excellent overview of the diversity of organic geochemical research being done in Australia with 35 oral presentations and 16 posters. A keynote lecture was delivered by Dr Roy Krouse from the University of Calgary who spoke on “sulphur isotope geochemistry of oil and gas deposits”. This talk was to have opened the conference, but delays caused by a certain overseas airline meant that Roger Summons had to move his talk on cyanobacterial lipids forward thus confirming his role as prime tester of the audio-visual systems that he established so well at the San Sebastian meeting. Talks were arranged into the following sessions: Isotope geochemistry (chaired by Professor Michael Wilson; 5 talks) Geochemistry of coal and humic materials in sediments (chaired by Professor Barry Batts; 3 talks) Petroleum geochemistry (chaired by Dr David McKirdy; 4 talks) Paleoclimate and paleoenvironments (chaired by Professor Bob Alexander; 4 talks) Biomarkers and geomacromolecules (chaired by Dr Roger Summons and Dr Simon George; 9 talks) Pollution and environmental geochemistry (chaired by Dr John Volkman; 5 talks) Analytical techniques and geochemical processes (chaired by Professor Bob Kagi; 5 talks) The quality of the talks presented was very high and the following discussions were often lively and stimulating. Space here does not permit a detailed list of all the talks and posters presented, but mention of a few of the talks will illustrate the range of topics covered. Roger Summons discussed the occurrence of branched alkanes and other biomarkers in cyanobacterial and showed that the amounts and isotopic composition depend on growth conditions. Graham Logan discussed possible reasons for the occurrence of carbon with a heavy isotope signature in Permian coals and shales and a light signature in Triassic rocks. Michael Wilson reviewed the forms of hydrogen in coal and demonstrated the exciting advances made in solid-state NMR techniques to distinguish aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, the fraction of aromatic carbon that is protonated and the average length of aliphatic chains. Chris Boreham showed how chemical kinetic calculations can be used to study the timing of oil and gas generation using examples from the Bowen Basin. A very stimulating talk was given by Andrew Murray who described how early diagenetic reactions and depositional environment determine the abundance of aliphatic and aromatic oleanoids in deltaic and lacustrine source rocks and oils. John Volkman showed from alkenone distributions that the surface waters of the Southern Ocean were 46°C cooler at the last glacial maximum while Bob Alexander discussed possible relationships between combustion-derived PAH in Triassic-Jurassic sediments and changes in paleoclimate. Andrew Revill presented some unusual hydrocarbon distributions in contemporary sediments while Ben van Aarssen revisited the origin of the Barrow sub-basin oils and demonstrated an Oxfordian (Upper Jurassic) source using higher plant markers such as cadalene and retene. Peter Nichols gave
ii
1996 Australian
Organic
Geochemistry
Conference
an overview of the advances being made by CSIRO in the use of coprostanol to identify and trace sources of faecal pollution in waterways. Student presentations are always strongly encouraged at AOGC meetings and this one was no exception. Excellent talks were given by Jamie Burgess (isotope biogeochemistry), Rosemary Paul1 (fernenes and fernanes), Junhong Chen (oils from the South China Sea), Mike Audino (bicyclic alkanes, Ben Warton (T-branched alkanes), Trevor Bastow (polymethylnapthalenes), Rino Troho (alkyldiphenylmethanes) and Cameron McIntyre (organic acids in groundwater). The prize for the “Best Presentation by a Student” was awarded to Mike Audino. The organisers also took the opportunity of including several speakers from industry, including Stephen Grocott from Alcoa, who described the problems associated with humic substances in bauxite refining, and Iva Stejskal from Apache Energy, who discussed some of the practical applications that environmental organic geochemistry can make to the oil and gas industry. Non-organic geochemists were also invited and we were treated to an excellent overview of the geological evolution of Australasia and its paleoclimate by Marita Bradshaw. Several presentations highlighted advances in instrumentation such as NMR (Michael Wilson), electrospray MS (Cameron McIntyre) and continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry which is now available in three Australian laboratories. Paul Greenwood gave an entertaining account of both a new method (laser micropyrolysis GC-MS) and a new discipline (petrographical chemistry) in which fluid inclusions are pyrolysed with a laser and the products analysed by GCMS. A feature of recent AOGC meetings has been the presentation of the Australian Organic Geochemistry medal which this year was awarded to Associate Professor David McKirdy (details are provided in the following item). David gave a talk entitled “Biomarker signatures of oils and source rocks from the Patchawarra Trough, Cooper-Eromanga Basin” in which he demonstrated the occurrence of several families of Jurassic-sourced oils, as well as those of Permian origin on which present exploration strategies are based. The next meeting will be held in Canberra in 1998. Further details can be obtained from: Dr Roger Summons, Australian Geological Survey Organistion, GPO Box 378 Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. Tel: +61-(0)6-2499515; Fax: +61-(0)6-2499956; E-mail: [email protected]