Ge 143

Lecture 0 (Sept. 25) - Introduction to Organic Geochemistry

Required reading: A History of Organic Geochemistry (Durand, 2003)
Optional reading: Early developments in petroleum geochemistry (Hunt, Philp, & Kvenvolden, 2002)

Lecture 1 (Sep. 27, 29) - Organic Structure, Bonding, and Nomenclature

Lecture 2 (Sep. 29, 31) - Polarity and Solubility

Lecture 2 slides
Tables of solvent properties (a useful reference)
Required reading: Organic Chemistry (Wade, 1995) pp59-68
Recommended reading for lab: Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual (Zubrick, 1992) Ch 15-16

Lecture 3 (Oct 4, 6) - Chromatographic theory

(no slides for this lecture)
Recommended reading: McNair & Miller, Basic Gas Chromatography, Chapters 1, 2, and 3.

Lecture 4 (Oct 9) - Mass spectrometry

(no slides for this lecture)
Required reading: ESI FT-ICR MS; Characterization of complex environmental samples (Kujawinski, 2002)

Lecture 5 (Oct 11) - Analytical Methods for Organic Matter

Lecture 5 slides
Required reading: Evidence for non-selective preservation of organic matter in sinking marine particles (Hedges et al, 2001)

Lecture 6 (Oct 13) - Organic Matter in the Solar System (G. Blake guest lecture)

Lecture 7 (Oct 16) - Prebiotic Chemistry

Lecture 7 slides
Required reading: K&K, Chapter 1
Required reading: Stepwise evolution of early life driven by energy conservation (Ferry & House, 2006)
Extra reading: The prebiotic synthesis of organic compounds on early Earth (Stanley Miller, Ch. 30 in Macko & Engel text, which is on reserve)

Lecture 8 (Oct 18) - Bulk Composition of Organic Matter

Lecture 8 slides
Required reading: K&K, Chapter 2
Required reading: On the hydrogen and oxygen content of marine phytoplankton (Andersen, 1995)

Lecture 9 (Oct 20) - Carbohydrates

Lecture 9 slides
Required reading: K&K, Sections 2.2-2.3
Required reading: Stable hydrogen isotope ratios in beetle chitin (Grocke et al, 2006)

Lecture 10 (Oct 23, 25) - Acetogenic lipids

Lecture 10 slides
Required reading: K&K, Section 2.4.1-2.4.2
Linking toluene degradation with specific microbial populations (Hanson et al, 1999)
Widespread occurrence of structurally diverse tetraether membrane lipids (Schouten et al, 2000)
Intact polar membrane lipids in prokaryotes and sediments (Sturt et al, 2004)

Lecture 11 (Oct 27, Nov 1) - Isoprenoid lipids

Lecture 11 slides
Required reading: K&K, pages 49-56
Isoprenoid biosynthesis: The evolution of two ancient and distinct pathways across genomes (Lange et al, 2000)
Extra reading: Microalgal biomarkers: A review of recent research developments (Volkman et al, 1998)

Lecture 12 (Nov 3) - Case studies: Isoprenoids in Action

Required reading: 2-Methylhopanoids as biomarkers for cyanobacterial oxygenic photosynthesis (Summons et al, 1999)
Methane-consuming archaebacteria in marine sediments (Hinrichs et al, 1999)

Lecture 13 (Nov 6) - Pigments

Lecture 13 slides
Required reading: K&K p 56-62, 175-179
Sedimentary pigments as markers for environmental change in an Antarctic lake (Squier et al, 2002)
Biomarker evidence for green and purple sulphur bacteria in a stratified Palaeoproterozoic sea (Brocks et al, 2005)

Lecture 14 (Nov 8) - Resistant Biopolymers

Lecture 14 slides
Required reading: Possible origins of n-alkanes in high-wax crude oils (Tegelaar et al, 1989)
Extra reading: A review of macromolecular organic compounds that comprise living organisms... (deLeeuew and Largeau, 1993)

Lecture 15 (Nov 10) - The preservation of organic matter

Lecture 15 slides
Required reading: K&K chapter 3
Influence of oxygen exposure timeon organic carbon preservation in continental margin sediments. (Hartnett et al, 1998)

Lecture 16 (Nov 13) - Stable isotopes in organic geochemistry

Lecture 16 slides
Required reading: K&K Section 5.8
Practice and principles of isotopic measurements in organic geochemistry. (Hayes, 1983)
Extra reading: Isotope-ratio detection for gas chromatography. (Sessions, 2006)

Lecture 17 (Nov 15) - Carbon isotopes in organic matter

Lecture 17 slides
Required reading: Fractionation of the isotopes of carbon and hydrogen in biosynthetic processes. (Hayes, 2001)
Extra reading: Factors controlling 13C contents of sedimentary organic compounds: Principles and evidence. (Hayes, 1993)

Lecture 18 (Nov 20) - Hydrogen isotopes in organic matter

Lecture 18 slides
Required reading: Hydrogen isotopes in palmitic acid in lacustrine sediments record late Quaternary climate variations. (Huang et al, 2002)
Required: Fractionation of hydrogen isotopes in lipid biosynthesis. (Sessions et al., 1999)
Extra reading: Isotopic exchange of carbon-bound hydrogen over geologic timescales. (Sessions et al., 2004)

Lecture 19 (Nov 27) - Diagenesis of organic matter

Lecture 19 slides
Required reading: K&K Chapter 4
Required: Biomarker evidence for a major preservation pathway of sedimentary organic carbon. (Hebting et al, 2006)
Extra reading: Hydrogen isotopic composition of organic matter during diagenesis and thermal maturation. (Schimmelmann et al, 2006)

Lecture 20 (TBD) - Petroleum geochemistry

Lecture 20 slides
Required reading: K&K pp 144-167
Required: Sulphur-radical control on petroleum formation rates (Lewan, 1998)
Extra reading: Petrleum Geochemistry and Geology (Hunt, 1996; on reserve in library)

Lecture 21 (TBD) - Biomarkers for ancient environments

Lecture 21 slides
Required reading: K&K pp 166-207
Required: Sedimentary hydrocarbons, biomarkers for early life (Brocks and Summons, 2004)
Extra reading: Organic geochemical proxies of paleoceanographic, paleolimnologic, and paleoclimatic processes (Meyers, 1997)

Lecture 22 (TBD) - Fossil carbon in modern environments

Lecture 22 slides
Required reading: The fate of ancient sedimentary organic carbon in a modern sedimentary system. (Blair et al, 2003)
Required: Evidence for microbial assimilation of ancient organic carbon during shale weathering. (Petsch et al, 2001)
Extra reading: New directions in black carbon organic geochemistry. (Masiello, 2004)