Professor Robert Alexander

Professor of Petroleum Geochemistry

BSc (Hons), DipEd, PhD (UWA), FRACI, CChem
Field of interest: Petroleum geochemistry, especially sedimentary processes and biomarkers

Contact Details

Centre for Applied Organic Geochemistry
Curtin University of Technology
GPO Box U1987
Perth WA 6845
Building 304 - 214A
Phone +61 (0) 8 9266 7268
Fax +61 (0) 8 9266 3547
Email R.Alexander@curtin.edu.au

Download CV (*.doc 23KB)

Research Projects

• Reactions of Organic Matter in the Sedimentary System
• Subsurface carbocation processes revealed by a stable isotopic study of the aromatic UCM
• Characterisation of the Source of Sedimentary organic matter
• Macrocyclic Alkanes: Markers for the Freshwater Alga Botryococcus braunii
• The Formation of Sedimentary Alkylbiphenyls from Algal Lipid Precursors
• Reconstructing Petroleum Migration Pathways Through Analysis of Polar Compounds
• Applications of Compound Specific D/H Isotope Analysis to Crude Oils and Sediments
• Stable Isotopes of Biomarkers in Permian/Triassic Sediments: Searching for Clues to the Cause of the end-Permian Mass Extinction Event
• P/T Sediments from the Perth Basin: Implications for Petroleum Source-Rock Formation
• Establishing Palaeoenvironmental Conditions in the Jurassic Through Changes in Terrestrial Signatures

Key Publications

Audino, M., Grice, K., Alexander, R. and Kagi, R.I. (2002) Macrocyclic alkanes: Markers for the freshwater alga Botryococcus braunii in the Gippsland Basin. APPEA Journal 42, 437-442.

van Aarssen, B.G.K., Alexander, R. and Kagi, R.I. (2001) Application of aromatic hydrocarbons: the liquid reaction environment in source rocks - a fundamental stage in oil formation. APPEA Journal 41, 549-558.

Bastow, T.P., Singh, R.K., van Aarssen, B.G.K., Alexander, R. and Kagi, R.I. (2001) 2-Methylretene in sedimentary material: a new higher plant biomarker. Organic Geochemistry 32, 1211-1218.

van Aarssen, B.G.K., Alexander, R. and Kagi, R.I. (2000) Reconstructing the geological history of Australian crude oils using aromatic hydrocarbons. APPEA Journal 40, 283-291.

Jiang, C., Alexander, R., Kagi, R.I. and Murray, A.P. (2000) Origin of perylene in ancient sediments and its geological significance. Organic Geochemistry 31, 1545-1559.