Switch to full style
For all your general chitchat about anything other than Petroleum Geology and E&P Technology. Well... even that is welcome if you can't find a suitable forum!
Post a reply

Oil spills in Geological History

Tue Sep 07, 2010 1:59 pm

Hi all,

Is there any evidence of oil spills in Earth's geologic past, similar to the gulf catastrophe in scope, but caused by geologic processes like plate tectonics? If so, what impact did this have??

Thanks,

Dianne

Re: Oil spills in Geological History

Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:00 am

There is evidence of large disturbances in the global carbon levels, in the form of carbon isotope records. But those are explained by global changes in biological activity due to ice ages, ocean anoxic events, vulcanic eruptions, biological processes and changes in ocean currents due to plate rearrangements.

A big oil blowout such as happened in the gulf, even an enormous one, wouldn't leave much evidence in the rock record, if any. Nevertheless, we can assume that they did happen every once in a while, thanks to earthquakes opening up fractures or maybe even volcanic activity.

Re: Oil spills in Geological History

Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:19 am

I thought something along these lines had to occured naturally from time to time... So maybe this oil spill, as bad as it is, isn't the end of the world.

Thanks!
Post a reply