Geofluids and natural gas in Romania, and the 10th International Conference on Gas Geochemistry

Abstract

This thematic issue of Geofluids includes 11 papers representing the three main topics discussed in the 10th edition of the International Conference on Gas Geochemistry (ICGG-10): (i) gas in petroleum systems and seepage, (ii) gas in geothermal systems and volcanoes and (iii) gas, seismicity and geohazards. ICGG-10 was held in 2009 in Romania, a country extraordinarily rich in surface gas manifestations, that offers innumerable opportunities for innovative studies on gas geochemistry. We briefly describe the present knowledge on gases occurring both in petroliferous sedimentary basins and geothermal areas of Romania. The 11 contributions of this special issue, which include data from eight countries, are then summarised. Based on these papers and other works presented at the ICGG-10, we find that significant advances in analytical capabilities, data treating and interpretation have led to innovative insights into the origin, distribution and environmental impact of gases migrating to the Earth’s surface. It is increasingly clear, in particular, that gas geochemistry can be more effective for petroleum exploration, volcano-tectonic, geodynamic and environmental studies, if multiparametric studies are performed and the data are interpreted in the geological context.