Introduction: For over a decade, the oldest evidence for life on this planet has been microfossils in the 3.5 Ga Apex Chert in Western Australia [1]. Recently, the biogenicity of these carbon-rich structures has been called into question through reanalysis of the local geology and reinterpretation of the original thin sections. Although initially described as a stratiform, bedded chert of silic...

Although hydrocarbon production from unconventional reservoirs, the so-called shale gas, has exploded recently, reliable predictions of resource availability and extraction are missing because conventional tools fail to account for their ultra-low permeability and complexity. Here, we use molecular simulation and statistical mechanics to show that continuum description--Darcy's law--fails to pr...

The middle Sarvak formation (Cenomanian) is one of the stratigraphic units of the Bangestan group in the south of Iran. This formation is stratigraphically equivalent to the Ahmadi member of Kuwait and Iraq. There is geochemical evidence that indicates this unit has a high level of organic richness and can be a possible source rock in various locations. This study focuses on the organic geochem...

An elastic modulus mapping technique based on spatially continuous dynamic nanoindentation is applied to map microscale variations in a fine-grained, kerogenrich shale consisting of inorganic minerals with an interpenetrating network of microscale pores filled with organic matter. Advantages and limitations of the application of this technique to shales are explored through varying sample prepa...

Contaminant sorption, an important process that may limit bioavailability, hinder remediation, encourage environmental persistence, and control mobility in the environment, has been the focus of numerous studies. Despite these efforts, the fundamental understanding of sorptive processes in soil and sedimentary environments has not been resolved. For instance, many have suggested that contaminan...