Role of hydrogen in the formation of associated gases and postsedimentation transformations of salt rocks of the Verkhnekamskoe deposit

In this paper we discuss relationships between the intensity of epigenetic transformations and the distribution of organic matter, calcium sulfates, and hydrogen in a salt sequence. The timing of incipient epigenetic transformations in the rocks of a potassic salt bed coinciding with the beginning of the radiolysis of crystallization water in carnallite was established. The role of hydrogen in the formation of associated gases and postsedimentation transformations of the salt rocks of the Verkhnekamskoe deposit was evaluated. The formation of methane and associated gases was attributed to the influence of molecular hydrogen on organic matter and sulfur minerals during sulfate reduction.