or were these massive oil fields formed by the dead Dinosaurs as told back in school
2006-07-07 04:34:57 · 11 answers · asked by do ron,ron 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
It depends on what you would consider "on-going" and your own perception of time. Sorry, there are no dinosaurs in oil.
On a geologic scale, that is thousands to millions of years, oil formation is an on-going process. In relation to the amount of oil that is being pumped out of reservoirs (about 80 million barrels a day) it is definitely not keeping up. The world has used about 2 trillion barrels of oil in the past 150 years, and probably a little more than one trillion barrels remain.
Oil forms during a specific period during the history of a sedimentary basin. As rock that has high organic content is buried and heats up, the temperature rises slowly to about 140 degrees F. As it exceeds this temperature, the organic material in the rock, which is microscopic plankton and zooplankton, along with plant materials converts to oil. If it warms even more it may form natural gas as well. Often this burial process continues and the rock that the oil came from changes temperature again stopping the process. So, the period during which oil forms in a particular basin may only be right for a few hundred thousand or million years. After that oil generation stops. The oil will remain until we find it and remove it by drilling.
One of the youngest oil reservoirs ever discovered is only about 4000 years old. Oil can form rather quickly (a geologist considers 4,000 years to be really fast), but most oil is several million years old. At least that is how long it has been sitting there waiting to be found. If you were hoping to fill up your gas tank and have to wait 4,000 years, you might not consider that fast.
The hypothesis proposed by Thomas Gold, an astrophysicist, was that carbon in the deep Earth mantle could be a source of hydrocarbons. There is no good evidence that there is much carbon in the mantle, and the only carbon we find that comes from beneath the crust is in the form of diamonds. Diamonds don’t make oil. His evidence came from other planets that have methane and no biological sources for the methane. The problem with Gold’s idea is that no oil reservoirs have ever been discovered that are in the rock where his hypothesis predicts that oil would be found. If Gold’s idea were correct, then rocks like granite and other igneous rocks would be full of oil, and they have no oil at all. His idea isn’t new, it is several decades old, and while some geologist’s believe that there may be some oil out there that fits his hypothesis, they also believe it is extremely rare.
2006-07-07 13:18:48 · answer #1 · answered by carbonates 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The formation of oil is an ongoing process correct. It is not necessarily formed from the dinosaurs, but also from other organic matter. Even the organic matter that is being added to the earth even now, is used in oil production. But this is a very slow process. The rate at which it is extracted is much much larger than the rate at which the nature tries to replenish it. Hence there is a threat of te oil being used op and the cosequent eergy crisis. The same can be said about coal.
2006-07-07 04:55:45 · answer #2 · answered by know it all 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it's on-going; but it is running out because it can't be replenished as fast as it is being removed.
There is a band new, sexy, hypothesis going around that suggests that natural hydrocarbons are produced DEEP in the crust by non-organic, migrating acid compounds that react with deeply buried shales. This might mean there is a LOT more oil in places we've never considered looking before. I personally don't buy it because the geochem data from oil is pretty persuasive that it was derived from (organic) plant remains (not "dinosaurs"), and not from deep sources. But, hey, it's worth a look!
2006-07-07 07:54:40 · answer #3 · answered by stevenB 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It takes millions of years for the earth to convert organic matter into oil. At our rate of consumption, we will use it all up long before there is any more oil generated by the earth. However, there are a couple of small companies that figured out a way to convert practically anything organic into light oil which could have many uses.
2006-07-07 04:40:14 · answer #4 · answered by ebk1974 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
oil formation is ongoing but it does come from the dinosaurs and other organisms. they underwent changes and formed into what we call oil today. if we stopped using oil and checked in another million years or so, there would be more oil than there is today but its not something that can replenish itself to meet our demands
2006-07-07 04:40:42 · answer #5 · answered by Newtibourne 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes the formation of oil is an ongoing process - but at the rate were using it we will expel what there still is and the new oil replenishments will not be enough
2006-07-07 14:35:59 · answer #6 · answered by Brian 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It does. But not in days. Millions of years later we will get more oil if we allow the earth to survive that long
2006-07-07 04:41:51 · answer #7 · answered by Dr M 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It takes millions of years for the earth to "make" oil. So as far as humans who are alive right now are concerned - it's a finite resource, and once it's gone, it's GONE.
Wait a few million years, and there will be more...
2006-07-07 04:39:37 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oil is a carbo hydrate compound.Like gold and silver, once dug, it's gone.
2006-07-07 05:15:42 · answer #9 · answered by Street Smart 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.
It is a fossil fuel.
We have burned 1 billion years worth so far.
How wasteful are we.
2006-07-07 04:38:36 · answer #10 · answered by Epidavros 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋