The aim is to realise the potential of hydropyrolysis (pyrolysis assisted by high hydrogen gas pressures) as a means to provide reliable molecular fingerprints for severely biodegraded oils, contaminated cores, oil-field solids (tar mats and pyrobitumens) and to provide novel information on basin-filling history where the conventional free-biomarker approach fails. This will then facilitate rapid and accurate oil-source and oil-oil correlations to be determined for the first time in ocean-margin regions. The study will establish a firm base to exploit the commercial potential of hydropyrolysis, both in terms of oil exploration through the new correlations with bound biomarker profiles and of characteristic sedimentary organic matter as a far superior technique to py-GC-MS. Indeed, innovative experimental protocols for conducting hydropyrolysis will continue to be developed to have a prototype system ready for future exploitation.

to provide reliable molecular fingerprints for biodegraded crude oils and contaminated sediment cores and to facilitate correlation studies The aim is to demonstrate the potential of hydropyrolysis (pyrolysis assisted by high hydrogen gas pressure) as a novel means to provide reliable molecular fingerprints for biodegraded oils and contaminated cores where conventional biomarker approaches fail. This will then facilitate accurate and rapid oil-source and oil-oil correlations to be determined for the first time in these situations. New experimental protocols for conducting hydropyrolysis on asphaltenes will be developed. The study will establish a firm base to exploit the commercial potential of hydropyrolysis, both in oil exploration and for characterising sedimentary organic matter as a far superior technique to pyrolysis-GC-MS through a larger industrial partner.

Deposition in many Ocean Margin settings involves settling of non-cohesive grains ('sand') through a non-Newtonian suspension of colloidal ('mud') particles. Although sand or mud-only settling is well constrained, combined sand-mud settling is poorly understood. Complex particle interactions ensure sand-mud settling is not simply the addition of individual sand and mud settling behaviour. Novel experiments will develop a better understanding of sand-mud settling dynamics in the context of submarine turbidity currents, in order to predict lateral variations in mud-content and reservoir quality of their deposits (turbidites). Many of the World's largest petroleum reservoirs occur within turbidites. Results will also aid prediction of pollutant flux to the sea-floor in diverse marine settings, as pollutants are preferentially incorporated onto mud particles.