Maturity
Categories: Biological reproduction | Basic financial concepts | Credit | Fossil fuels
Contents |
Biology
In biology, an organism is said to have reached maturity when it has reached a stage at which it could produce offspring. This age varies from individual to individual and from species to species, and can be affected by a variety of environmental factors. This is more precisely known as sexual maturity.
Finance
In finance, maturity refers to the final payment date of a loan or other financial instrument, after which point no further interest or principal need be paid.
Geology
de:Fälligkeit In petroleum geology, the maturity of a rock is a measure of its state in terms of hydrocarbon generation. Maturity is established using a combination of geochemical and basin modelling techniques.
Organic-rich rocks (termed source rocks) will alter under increasing temperature such that the organic molecules slowly mature into hydrocarbons (see diagenesis). Source rocks are therefore broadly categorised as immature (no hydrocarbon generation), sub-mature (limited hydrocarbon generation), mature (extensive hydrocarbon generation) and overmature (most hydrocarbons have been generated).
The maturity of a source rock can also be used as an indicator of its hydrocarbon potential. That is, if a rock is sub-mature, then it has a much higher potential to generate further hydrocarbons than one that is overmature.