Periodic Cataclysmic Petroleum Reservoir Breaching Evidenced by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) at stratigraphic boundaries are conventionally interpreted as soot signatures from widespread biomass burning. However, this model faces fundamental quantitative, geographical, and chronological contradictions—particularly given the absolute dominance of alkylated homologues in deep-sea sediments, the scale of mass balance requirements, and the occurrence of massive PAH anomalies at pre-vegetative geological boundaries. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that these boundary PAH signatures are primarily petrogenic, characterized by high alkylated-to-parental ratios and low-maturity isomeric distributions indicative of thermal maturation under high pressure. These anomalies point to the molecular footprint of rapid thermal alteration, hydrofracturing, and catastrophic depressurization of deep petroleum reservoirs triggered by periodic megaseisms and global tectonic reactivations. Nevertheless, triggering such large-scale phenomena requires immense energy inputs, the sources of which may include intense volcanism, seismic activity, extraterrestrial impacts, or a combination thereof.