During ancient times,human interest in naturally-occurring gases was religious,while it was scientific in the historical age and industrial in modern times.Gases were also utilized for practical purposes and more than...During ancient times,human interest in naturally-occurring gases was religious,while it was scientific in the historical age and industrial in modern times.Gases were also utilized for practical purposes and more than 3000 years before present day,Chinese populations made use of methane for salt extraction while in the 17th century it was observed that native Americans ignited methane seepages.The development of human thinking on gases followed the fundamental steps that characterized the natural sciences during the 18th century scientific revolution that was based on significant improvements in analytical methods.These improvements are still ongoing while present-day scientific publications evidence the spread of the field of interest and more cooperation with geophysical sciences to solve common interest problems.The existence of proper meetings and dedicated scientific journals confirms that gas geochemistry has ended this pioneering phase to enter a more mature condition.展开更多
基金supported partially by the National Science and Technology Major Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(Nos.2021YFA0719003,2019YFA0708501)funds from Chinese Academy of Sciences as a visiting professorship for senior international scientists(No.2018VMA0007)。
文摘During ancient times,human interest in naturally-occurring gases was religious,while it was scientific in the historical age and industrial in modern times.Gases were also utilized for practical purposes and more than 3000 years before present day,Chinese populations made use of methane for salt extraction while in the 17th century it was observed that native Americans ignited methane seepages.The development of human thinking on gases followed the fundamental steps that characterized the natural sciences during the 18th century scientific revolution that was based on significant improvements in analytical methods.These improvements are still ongoing while present-day scientific publications evidence the spread of the field of interest and more cooperation with geophysical sciences to solve common interest problems.The existence of proper meetings and dedicated scientific journals confirms that gas geochemistry has ended this pioneering phase to enter a more mature condition.