Workshop on the Origin of Natural Gas

摘要

A panel of scientists met in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for three days to review a broad range of thinking which bears on the origin of natural gas deposits. The workshop was stimulated by Thomas Gold's theory that commercial hydrocarbon accumulations are in large measure attributable to the seepage of primordial methane from deep in the earth. Based on the nature of carbonaceous materials in meteoroites, the observation of methane seepage at some deep sea sites, and patterns of gas and trace element accumulations, Gold believes the conventional theories of hydrocarbon origin are inadequate. In this volume workshop participants summarize the implications from various disciplines and the majority conclude that the bulk of commercially important hydrocarbons are derived from the breakdown of organic material in sedimentary rocks.