Abstract
Salt is a major factor in the origin of petroleum. It leads to the extraction of hydrocarbons from sediments and the formation of oil droplets. Also, salt domes and their cap rocks may trap oil1. Although the diagenesis of salt and brines is well understood, little is known what salty brines may do to infalling organic detritus. Using results from the Caspian Sea and the North Sea we show here that hypersaline solutions close to the sediment–water interface will cure organic matter and that this ‘pickling effect’ is essential for obtaining black and oil shales.
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Degens, E., Paluska, A. Hypersaline solutions interact with organic detritus to produce oil. Nature 281, 666–668 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/281666a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/281666a0
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