Chemical fossils: the geological fate of steroids.

摘要: Steroids are used to illustrate some of the significant advances that have been made in recent years understanding biological origin and geological fate organic compounds sediments. The precursor sterols transformed, initially by microbial activity later physicochemical constraints, into thermodynamically more stable saturated aromatic hydrocarbons mature sediments petroleums. steps this transformation result a complex web linking biogenesis, diagenesis, catagenesis. Indeed, complexity variety lipids such as steroids evidently matched corresponding geolipids. extent preservation biochemical imprint structures stereochemistry these geolipids, even over hundreds millions years, is startling, systematic sequential nature geochemical changes they undergo. This new molecular geochemistry has applications petroleum geochemistry, where marker valuable assessment sediment maturity correlation work.