Geochemistry of Biomarkers and Asphaltenes of Precambrian Organic Matter in the Aldan–Maya Depression (Siberian Platform)

The study compares the elemental composition of asphaltenes with the parameters of hydrocarbon biomarkers and Precambrian insoluble organic matter (OM) of the Aldan–Maya depression. The elemental composition of the asphaltenes was found to depend on the pyrolytic characteristics of the OM. Using asphaltene compositions in combination with biomarker parameters, the genetic and catagenetic features of difficult-to-study objects such as Precambrian bitumens can be characterized more accurately and reliably. The elemental composition of the asphaltenes was shown to correlate with the aromatic parameters that reflect the OM maturity. In contrast, the parameters of the asphaltenes show essentially no correlation with biomarker data for the saturated components.