Color of kerogen as index of organic maturity

Kerogen from the Tanner basin off southern California was heated under nitrogen at different temperatures and times and subsequently was studied under the transmitted light microscope. Samples darken in color from yellow through shades of brown to black with increasing thermal maturation. The transition from dark brown to very dark brown marks the range of maximum n-alkane generation where the residue attains an atomic H/C of about 0.80 plus or minus 0.05. The apparent activation energy for this transition was about 45 plus or minus 5 kcal per mole.