The carbon isotope signature of methane is often presented as the ‘silver bullet’ capable of identifying whether soil gas is from a deeper thermogenic source or produced by microbial processes. The stakes are high because failing to identify a gas migration (GM) issue can have serious environmental consequences…

Ethane is a reliable geochemical tracer that can be used as a single line of evidence to identify a potential gas migration issue. Ethane and longer chain hydrocarbons are produced during the thermal degradation of organic matter (kerogen) over geological timescales. Microbial …