Hydrocarbons of Biological Origin from a One-Billion-Year-Old Sediment

Abstract

The isoprenoid hydrocarbons, phytane (C(20)H(42)) and pristane (C(19)H(40)), are present in the oil seeping from the Precambrian Nonesuch formation at the White Pine Mine, Michigan. Gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry provide the isolation and identification procedures.