organic geochemistry

Organic Geochemistry is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier covering research on all aspects of organic geochemistry. The current editors-in-chief are James Maxwell (University of Bristol) and Lloyd Snowdon (University of Calgary). Organic Geochemistry is the official journal of the European Association of Organic Geochemists.

Organic geochemistry is the study of the impacts and processes that organisms have had on the Earth. The study of organic geochemistry is usually traced to the work of Alfred E. Treibs, "the father of organic geochemistry." Treibs first isolated metalloporphyrins from petroleum. This discovery established the biological origin of petroleum, which was previously poorly understood. Metalloporphyrins in general are highly stable organic compounds, and the detailed structures of the extracted derivatives made clear that they originated from chlorophyll.