Biomarker chemistry and flux quantification methods for natural petroleum seeps and produced oils, offshore southern California

T.D. Lorenson; Ira Leifer; Florence L. Wong; Robert J. Rosenbauer; Pamela L. Campbell; Angela Lam; Frances D. Hostettler; Jens Greinert; David P. Finlayson; Eliza S. Bradley; Bruce P. Luyendyk

doi:10.3133/sir20115210

Biomarker chemistry and flux quantification methods for natural petroleum seeps and produced oils, offshore southern California

Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5210

In cooperation with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

By: T.D. Lorenson, Ira Leifer, Florence L. Wong, Robert J. Rosenbauer, Pamela L. Campbell, Angela Lam, Frances D. Hostettler, Jens Greinert, David P. Finlayson, Eliza S. Bradley, and Bruce P. Luyendyk

https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20115210

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Abstract

Sustained, natural oil seepage from the seafloor is common off southern California, and is of great interest to resource managers, who are tasked with distinguishing natural from anthropogenic oil sources. The major purpose of this study was to build upon the work previously funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that has refined the oil-fingerprinting process to enable differentiation of the highly similar Monterey Formation oils from Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) production and adjacent natural seeps. In these initial studies, biomarker and stable carbon isotope ratios were used to infer the age, lithology, organic-matter input, and depositional environment of the source rocks for 388 samples of produced crude oil, seep oil, and tarballs mainly from coastal California. The analysis resulted in a predictive model of oil source families that could be applied to samples of unknown origin.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Report
Publication Subtype	USGS Numbered Series
Title	Biomarker chemistry and flux quantification methods for natural petroleum seeps and produced oils, offshore southern California
Series title	Scientific Investigations Report
Series number	2011-5210
Subseries	Bureau of Ocean Energy Management OCS Study BOEM 2011?016
DOI	10.3133/sir20115210
Year Published	2011
Language	English
Publisher	U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location	Reston, VA
Contributing office(s)	Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description	v, 42 p.; Appendix; Tables 1-4 Folder; Readme TXT; Metadata Folder; KMZ Download of Google Earth; ZIP Download of GIS Data Package
First page	i
Last page	45
Country	United States
State	California
Online Only (Y/N)	Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N)	Y
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page