地球上绝大部分能生成沥青的有机质——脂肪和蛋白,集中在浮游生物中。浮游生物乃是在水中呈悬浮状态游泳的、个体极小的、用显微镜才能看见的动植物。这样的动植物到处可见,在所有的水盆地——海洋、泻湖、湖泊和河流中都有。为了聚集大量的浮游生物需要下列三个条件:(1) Most of the earth’s bitumen, fat and protein, is concentrated in plankton. Planktons are animals and plants that swim in suspension in the water and are tiny and can be seen with a microscope. Such animals and plants are found everywhere, in all water basins - oceans, lagoons, lakes and rivers. In order to gather a large number of plankton need the following three conditions: (1)