Geoffrey S Ellis
Geoffrey Ellis is a petroleum geochemist with the Energy Resources Program (ERP) of the US Geological Survey. He manages the sealed tube and hydrous pyrolysis laboratories within the Central Energy Resources Science Center.
Geoffrey Ellis' research interests encompass the areas of organic-inorganic interactions in petroleum systems, gas isotope geochemistry, and the controls on sedimentary organic geochemistry in aquatic environments. He has published extensively on the process of thermochemical sulfate reduction and its impact on petroleum geochemistry. He is also actively investigating the application of compound-specific sulfur isotope analysis to problems in petroleum and organic geochemistry. He also has ongoing research projects involving clumped and position specific isotope analysis of hydrocarbons and organosulfur compounds and their relation to petroleum formation processes.
Professional Experience
2006-Present: Research Geologist, Energy Resources Program, USGS
2003-2006: Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
1996-2003: Graduate Research Assistant, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami
1994-1996: Consulting Petroleum Geochemist, Venezuela
1991-1994: Physical Scientist, Nation Research Program, Water Resources Division, USGS
1988-1990: Geochemist, Northeast Research Institute
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Marine Geology and Geophysics, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami
M.S., Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines
B.A., Geological Sciences, Cornell University
Affiliations and Memberships*
Affiliate faculty Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines
Member American Association of Petroleum Geologists, European Association of Organic Geochemists, Geochemical Society, Geological Society of America
Member Association of Afro-Asian Petroleum Geochemists, Latin American Association of Organic Geochemistry
Member of the “Committee on Research” of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (2009-present)
Vice-chairman of the executive council of the Association of Afro-Asian Petroleum Geochemists
Founding member of the editorial board of the journal Petroleum Research
Member of the editorial board of the English-language version of the journal Acta Petrolei Sinica
Member of the editorial board of the journal Journal of Natural Gas Geoscience
Member of the editorial board of the journal Unconventional Resources
Science and Products
Position-specific 13C distributions within propane from experiments and natural gas samples
East African weathering dynamics controlled by vegetation-climate feedbacks
Depositional environment and organic matter accumulation of Upper Ordovician–Lower Silurian marine shale in the Upper Yangtze Platform, South China
Effects of thermal maturation and thermochemical sulfate reduction on compound-specific sulfur isotopic compositions of organosulfur compounds in Phosphoria oils from the Bighorn Basin, USA
Study of thermochemical sulfate reduction mechanism using compound specific sulfur isotope analysis
Compound-specific sulfur isotope analysis of thiadiamondoids of oils from the Smackover Formation, USA
The modern muds of Laguna Mar Chiquita (Argentina): Particle size and geochemical trends from a large saline lake in the "thick-skinned" Andean foreland
Introduction to special section: China shale gas and shale oil plays
Organic sedimentation in modern lacustrine systems: A case study from Lake Malawi, East Africa
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of Dibenzofuran, Alkyldibenzofurans, and Benzo[b]naphthofurans in crude oils and source rock extracts
Lake formation, characteristics and evolution in retroarc deposystems: A synthesis of data from the modern Andean orogen and its associated basins
Vegetation controls on weathering intensity during the last deglacial transition in southeast Africa
Science and Products
Position-specific 13C distributions within propane from experiments and natural gas samples
East African weathering dynamics controlled by vegetation-climate feedbacks
Depositional environment and organic matter accumulation of Upper Ordovician–Lower Silurian marine shale in the Upper Yangtze Platform, South China
Effects of thermal maturation and thermochemical sulfate reduction on compound-specific sulfur isotopic compositions of organosulfur compounds in Phosphoria oils from the Bighorn Basin, USA
Study of thermochemical sulfate reduction mechanism using compound specific sulfur isotope analysis
Compound-specific sulfur isotope analysis of thiadiamondoids of oils from the Smackover Formation, USA
The modern muds of Laguna Mar Chiquita (Argentina): Particle size and geochemical trends from a large saline lake in the "thick-skinned" Andean foreland
Introduction to special section: China shale gas and shale oil plays
Organic sedimentation in modern lacustrine systems: A case study from Lake Malawi, East Africa
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of Dibenzofuran, Alkyldibenzofurans, and Benzo[b]naphthofurans in crude oils and source rock extracts
Lake formation, characteristics and evolution in retroarc deposystems: A synthesis of data from the modern Andean orogen and its associated basins
Vegetation controls on weathering intensity during the last deglacial transition in southeast Africa
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government