4 ms·
How do we know oil doesn't bubble up from the Earth's mantle? As far as I know, the mantle has a vast supply of carbon and water, and under the high temperature
by umvi 5y ago
How do we know oil doesn't bubble up from the Earth's mantle? As far as I know, the mantle has a vast supply of carbon and water, and under the high temperatures and pressures of the mantle could form hydrocarbons that bubble up into the crust
- dredmorbius 5y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28106291 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28106291 TL;DR: coal, oil, and gas and/or the strata in which they form contain fossils and chemical signatures of ancient plant life, and are found in zones (ancient marshes/forests for coal, ancient shallow seabeds for oil) which correspond to a biotic rather than abiotic origin. The mantle exists at depths too great for fuel formation --- the materials would be broken down at the temperatures and pressures found. Kerogenesis is depth-limited on the same basis.