Abstract Aromatic hydrocarbons extracted from Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian and Campanian) Latrobe Group coaly shales and shales from the Gippsland Basin were investigated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. A variety of 2-ring to 6-ring aromatic hydrocarbons were identified, including both higher-plant-derived and combustion-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These aromatic compounds indicate that the Upper Cretaceous coaly shales and shales were deposited in a fluvial/deltaic environment with significant higher plant input and are at a relatively low thermal maturity stage. Higher plant parameters and angiosperm/gymnosperm indices based on aromatic components suggest that higher land plants, including both angiosperms and gymnosperms, were an important part of the palaeovegetation in the Upper Cretaceous. The aromatic angiosperm/gymnosperm index that includes chrysene- and picene-type PAHs is not as reliable for evaluation of relative angiosperm and gymnosperm contributions as the aliphatic indices due to input of combustion-derived PAHs and the complexity of burning conditions altering the relative contributions. However, combustion-derived PAHs and aromatic angiosperm/gymnosperm indices supplement the information from aliphatic hydrocarbons and provide further evidence to support the hypothesis that palaeoclimate cooled from the Campanian to the Maastrichtian.

中文翻译：

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澳大利亚吉普斯兰盆地上白垩统拉特罗布组石油烃源岩的生物标志物特征：芳烃的分布和地质意义

摘要 采用气相色谱-质谱法研究了从上白垩统（马斯特里赫特和坎帕阶）拉特罗布群煤质页岩和吉普斯兰盆地页岩中提取的芳烃。鉴定出多种 2 环至 6 环芳烃，包括高等植物来源和燃烧来源的多环芳烃 (PAH)。这些芳香族化合物表明上白垩统煤质页岩和页岩沉积在河流/三角洲环境中，植物输入量显着增加，并且处于相对较低的热成熟阶段。基于芳香成分的较高植物参数和被子植物/裸子植物指数表明，包括被子植物和裸子植物在内的高等陆生植物是上白垩统古植被的重要组成部分。由于燃烧衍生 PAH 的输入和燃烧条件的复杂性，包括 chrysene 和 picene 型 PAH 的芳香被子植物/裸子植物指数在评估相对被子植物和裸子植物贡献方面不如脂肪族指数可靠。然而，燃烧衍生的多环芳烃和芳香被子植物/裸子植物指数补充了来自脂肪烃的信息，并提供了进一步的证据来支持古气候从坎帕阶冷却到马斯特里赫特阶的假设。