Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

Environmental Geosciences

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Oudijk, G. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Age significance of n-C₁₇/Pr ratios in forensic investigations of refined product and crude oil releases: Discussion

¹ Triassic Technology, Inc., 57 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 209, Hopewell, New Jersey 08525; triassic.tech@att.net

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

Hurst and Schmidt (2005) report that they have refined a method first advanced by Christensen and Larsen (1993) and can pinpoint the age of diesel-fuel or crude-oil releases to ±1.5 yr. The work that they have completed is commendable and hopefully will be useful to investigators in the field. Despite their findings showing a successful use of the Christensen and Larsen (C&L) method, I point out some drawbacks that were not discussed in their article and could be useful information to Environmental Geosciences readers. Hurst and Schmidt do admit that there are limitations to this method, and site-specific considerations must be taken into account, but I feel that these limitations were not sufficiently elucidated in their article.

The C&L method essentially assumes that the ratio of the n-C₁₇ alkane (heptadecane) to pristane (n-C₁₇/Pr) found in soil (and possibly separate-phase) samples has a linear relationship to the petroleum age. The n-C₁₇/Pr ratio has been used for several decades as . . . [Full Text of this Article]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Y. Galperin and I. R. Kaplan Age significance of n-C17/Pr ratios in forensic investigations of refined product and crude oil releases: Discussion Environmental Geosciences, June 1, 2008; 15(2): 85 - 86. [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. W. Hurst and G. W. Schmidt Age significance of n-C17/Pr ratios in forensic investigations of refined product and crude oil releases: Reply Environmental Geosciences, June 1, 2007; 14(2): 111 - 112. [Full Text] [PDF]