GEOS710, Special Topics in Geochemistry 1: Organic Geochemistry- Source Rocks, Oils & Gases (Session 2, 2014)

Undergraduates with a major in geology will likely have a basic understanding of organic geochemistry and no practical skills in this subject. Similarly, undergraduates with a major in chemistry will likely have a good understanding of analytical and organic chemistry, and some lab skills, but may not have a depth in understanding of how these skills can be applied to geological samples. This unit allows a Masters of Research student who has limited hand-on research experience to gain an advanced understanding of organic geochemistry, and to develop their practical skills in an organic geochemistry laboratory. They will start to appreciate the wide scope of the literature in this area, and will develop skills related to the manipulation of raw data and the interpretation of large and complex datasets. Two practical applications of these techniques will be presented which are topical to both industry and further research.

Classes and contact hours:

There will be 9 official lectures in the first half of the session, to introduce the unit and give you a grounding in the theory behind some of the techniques. These are recorded and will be available direct from Simon and the iLearn site for your review. However, the majority of the unit will be (1) practical material taught in the Organic Geochemistry lab at Macquarie University (E7B340/344) by Simon George, perhaps with assistance from other research students at times, and (2) independent research, reading, and writing of reports and assignments.

Hours

This is a 4 credit point unit. It is anticipated that you will spend ~12 hours per week involved with the unit, over the 15 weeks of session (total 180 hours).

Contacts and Communication

Convenor:  Professor Simon George  

simon.george@mq.edu.au                     02 9850 4424  Office: E7A 514

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS), Macquarie University.

Other contact details: Lab is E7B 340. Lab phones are 02 9850 8273/8274. Mobile: 0418 428217

http://eps.mq.edu.au/staff/SimonGeorge/SimonGeorge.htm

EPS Admin (if Simon George is not available): E7A 507, phone 02 9850 8426 or 02 9850 8373

Readings and Textbook

•       Peters et al. 2005, The Biomarker Guide. 2 volumes, multiple copies in library (TN271.P4 P463), and there are also two Organic Geochemistry lab copies of each volume.

• Also Vol 2 in available through library as e-book:

(Search Biomarker Guide on MU Library site, and click on “Electronic version available via EBL”)

Web pages and electronic resources

The main unit web page is on iLearn:  https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/

iLearn is Macquarie's learning management system. Assignments, hand-outs, and reading material will be available here.

Lectures

The lecture slides will be available through iLearn, and the audio will also be recorded and made available.

Lectures will be in E7A 829 Faculty Tute Rm on Mondays, from 14:00 (they may go for > 1 hour, so the room is booked until 16:00, although none will go the whole 2 hours). There are 9 lectures, over the first 10 weeks of semester (no lecture on Mon 6^th October, Labor Day).

Practicals

The rest of the face-to face activity will be practicals that happen in the Organic Geochemistry Laboratory, E7B340/344. This will happen on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and I will contact you before semester to confirm which day I have you allocated to. You may well spend more time in the lab in some weeks than others (block mode), and this may be partly driven by access to fume cupboards and instruments. The weeks when I would like to concentrate supervised lab effort are:

Weeks 2 and 3, 12-13^th August, and 19-20^th August

Weeks 8 to 10, 7-8^th October, 14-15^th October, and 20-21^st October

In other weeks, you will need to work on processing analytical data from the samples (in the lab), and writing up the experiments (in your own time). This will have to be coordinated between everyone doing the unit, as there are only 2 PCs for GC-MS data processing (USB key locked).

In the first week, we will concentrate on:

1. Familiarisation with the lab and lab induction (including access arrangements via swipe card (your CDX number on student card will be needed by Ron Claassens for profiling for access to E7B 340/344; ron.claassens@mq.edu.au)

2. Reading material safety data sheets (MSDS)

3. Completing risk assessments.

4. Each of you will need to have a chemical safety induction (if not done already). If possible do this in small groups. Please contact Jenny (jenny.minard@mq.edu.au; 02-9850-8169) to arrange the time for this (and state that you are doing masters research in Simon George’s lab, she knows to expect you). C5C Level 4 (W entrance), ask at reception. She often has groups on Friday at 11am.

Unit schedule and due dates for practical and assignments

Topics and dates of lectures:

Week 1, Mon 4^th August 2014.

Lecture 1, GEOS710 introduction; Introduction to biogeochemistry

What is biogeochemistry? High level stuff. Origin and preservation of organic matter. Organic chemistry included here. Carbon cycle.

Week 2, Mon 11^th August 2014.

Lecture 2, Organic geochemical methods

Extraction, fractionation, GC-MS. Everything you need to know to analyse biomarkers.

Week 3, Mon 18^th August 2014.

Lecture 3, Biomarkers in rocks and oil

The basic stuff and relationships. Oil formation. Fluid inclusions. Precambrian biomarkers. John Volkman sterol review paper.

Week 4, Mon 25^th August 2014.

Lecture 4, How microorganisms affect geological deposits and vice versa

Biodegradation and the deep biosphere.

Week 5, Mon 1^st September 2014.

Lecture 5, Interface of proteomics, molecular biology and organic geochemistry

Highlight how interpretation of biomarkers is being informed by culturing. Phyologeny of hopanoid producers using culture-independent methods.

Week 6, Mon 8^th September 2014.

Lecture 6, Marine biogeochemistry: Palaeothermometers

Alkenone-sea surface temperature (SST) record (palaeothermometer) Uk37.

The TEX86 paleothermometer

Week 7 Mon 15^th September 2014.

Lecture 7, The chemical record of life on earth

Evolution of diatoms and HBIs; Angiosperms and oleanane; Dinoflagellates and dinosteroids; Stromatoporids and isopropylcholestanes; Precambrian geochemistry / the Moon

Week 9, Mon 13^th October 2014.

Lecture 8, Biomarkers in present-day environments, and wrap-up

Oil spills, Exxon Valdez. Urban aerosols. Toxicity, monitoring.  MEOR and CO₂ sequestration.  

Week 10, Mon 20^th October 2014.

Lecture 9, How to do oil-source correlations

Not taped, new lecture, will be given live.

Dates of Assessed work:

Assignment 1: Organic petrology and vitrinite reflectance suppression.

     Released week 1, 4th August 2014. Due week 4, 25th August 2014, 17:00

Practical work 1: North Sea Oil fractionation, GC-MS and interpretation

     Released week 1, 4th August 2014. Due week 7, 15th September 2014, 17:00

Assignment 2: Carbon, hydrogen and sulphur isotopic compositions

     Released week 7, 15th September 2014. Due week 9, 13th October 2014 17:00

Practical work 2:  Extraction of sedimentary rocks, GC-MS and oil-source correlation

     Released week 8, 7th October 2014. Due week 13, 14th November 2014, 17:00

This practical assessment will also involve an oral presentation on part of the prac on the Tues or Wed in week 13 to the whole class.