The black gold beneath our feet is the chemically transformed and compressed remains of ancient life, and this category includes dinosaurs. With even more heat and pressure over geological epochs, the kerogen underwent thermal cracking, breaking down into the liquid hydrocarbons we recognize as crude oil.
From Dinosaurs to Source Rock: The Journey of Ancient Organic Matter
These tiny creatures died, sank to the ocean floor, and were buried in sediment, creating the thick, organic-rich rock that eventually becomes source rock for oil and gas. In environments with little oxygen, this organic matter was not fully decomposed.
However, in rare instances, a dinosaur carcass might be quickly buried by sediment in an oxygen-poor environment, such as a swamp or floodplain. When these organisms died, their bodies fell to the seabed, accumulating in layers upon layers.
From Dinosaurs to Deposits: The Journey of Organic Matter to Source Rock
Over geological time, the heat and pressure from these accumulating layers transformed the soft biological material into a waxy substance called kerogen, and eventually into liquid hydrocarbons. For millions of years, the Earth's seas were dominated by algae and zooplankton.
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