Millions of years ago in many different regions of the world, large-scale burials of organic matter were followed by the formation of underground traps. Which of the following provides evidence of these past geologic processes?

Question

Millions of years ago in many different regions of the world, large-scale burials of organic matter were followed by the formation of underground traps. Which of the following provides evidence of these past geologic processes?
 A. 
Areas where these geologic processes occurred now have very few natural resources.
 B. 
Areas where these geologic processes occurred now have major petroleum reserves.
 C. 
Areas where these geologic processes occurred now have very fertile soil.
 D. 
Areas where these geologic processes occurred now have major groundwater reserves.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The correct answer is:

B. Areas where these geologic processes occurred now have major petroleum reserves.

This is because the large-scale burials of organic matter that occurred millions of years ago, followed by the formation of underground traps, are known to result in the formation of hydrocarbons, including oil and natural gas. Thus, regions that experienced these processes are often rich in petroleum reserves.