华南晚二叠世层序—古地理及聚煤规律*

晚二叠世是地质历史中重要的成煤时期,在中国南方多个省区都形成了可采煤层。受海平面变化的影响,华南地区晚二叠世发育一套完整的陆相—海陆过渡相—海相含煤岩系。通过对野外露头及钻孔剖面资料分析,识别出了区域不整合面、下切谷底部冲刷面、河道间古土壤层和沉积相转换面等关键层序地层界面,以及依据海相石灰岩标志层横向分布规律反映的区域最大海泛面,同时结合前人关于华南地区地层对比及煤层对比方面的成果,将华南上二叠统划分为3个三级层序及9个体系域。利用单因素分析多因素综合作图法恢复了各层序中岩相古地理及煤层分布规律,结果表明:层序Ⅰ中煤层主要形成于潮控下三角洲平原以及潟湖潮坪环境,厚煤层的展布受这些沉积相带控制;层序Ⅱ中三角洲平原环境中煤层最厚,开阔台地煤层最薄,平面上煤层厚度表现为西部厚、中部次之、东部无煤的阶梯式递变;层序Ⅲ中煤层主要形成于三角洲平原环境,此时聚煤作用主要发生于华南西部的康滇古陆东侧,在华南中部及东部大部地区发育的浅海台地和深水盆地均不利于聚煤作用发生。     

Organic geochemical study of sequences overlying coal seams; example from the Mansfield Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian), Indiana

Roof successions above two coal seams from the Mansfield Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian) in the Indiana portion of the Illinois Basin have been studied with regard to sedimentary structures, organic petrology and organic geochemistry. The succession above the Blue Creek Member of the Mansfield Formation is typical of the lithologies covering low-sulphur coals (< 1%) in the area studied, whereas the succession above the unnamed Mansfield coal is typical of high-sulphur coals (>2.%). The transgressive-regressive packages above both seams reflect the periodic inundation of coastal mires by tidal flats and creeks as inferred from bioturbation and sedimentary structures such as tidal rhythmites and clay-draped ripple bedforms. Geochemistry and petrology of organic facies above the Blue Creek coal suggest that tidal flats formed inland in fresh-water environments. These overlying fresh water sediments prevented saline waters from invading the peat, contributing to low-sulphur content in the coal. Above the unnamed coal, trace fossils and geochemical and petrological characteristics of organic facies suggest more unrestricted seaward depositional environment. The absence of saline or typically marine biomarkers above this coal is interpreted as evidence of very short periods of marine transgression, as there was not enough time for establishment of the precursor organisms for marine biomarkers. However, sufficient time passed to raise SO₄²⁻ concentration in pore waters, resulting in the formation of authigenic pyrite and sulphur incorparation into organic matter.     

成因层序地层学的回顾与展望

回顾了以成因地层层序为基础的成因层序地层学的形成、发展与研究现状,对成因地层层序及其内部构成、高分辨率成因地层层序、成因地层层序的旋回性、非海相成因地层层序、成因地层层序与沉积物堆积速率等主要观点作了简略评述,并结合我国陆相沉积特征对成因层序地层学未来研究前景作了初步展望。     

Arsenic and lead concentrations in the Pond Creek and Fire Clay coal beds,eastern Kentucky coal field

The Middle Pennsylvanian Breathitt Formation (Westphalian B) Pond Creek and Fire Clay coal beds are the 2 largest producing coal beds in eastern Kentucky. Single channel samples from 22 localities in the Pond Creek coal bed were obtained from active coal mines in Pike and Martin Countries, Kentucky, and a total of 18 Fire Clay coal bed channel samples were collected from localities in the central portion of the coal field. The overall objective of this study was to investigate the concentration and distribution of potentially hazardous elements in the Fire Clay and Pond Creek coal beds, with particular emphasis on As and Pb, 2 elements that are included in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments as potential air toxics. The 2 coals are discussed individually as the depositional histories are distinct, the Fire Clay coal bed having more sites where relatively high-S lithologies are encountered. In an effort to characterize these coals, 40 whole channel samples, excluding 1-cm partings, were analyzed for major, minor and trace elements by X-ray fluorescence and proton-induced X-ray emission spectroscopy. Previously analyzed samples were added to provide additional geographic coverage and lithotype samples from one site were analyzed in order to provide detail of vertical elemental trends.The As and Pb levels in the Fire Clay coal bed tend to be higher than in the Pond Creek coal bed. One whole channel sample of the Fire Clay coal bed contains 1156 ppm As (ash basis), with a single lithotype containing 4000 ppm As (ash basis). Most of the As and Pb appears to be associated with pyrite, which potentially can be removed in beneficiation (particularly coarser pyrite). Disseminated finer pyrite may not be completely removable by cleaning. In the examination of pyrite conducted in this study, it does not appear that significant concentration of As or Pb occurs in the finer pyrite forms. The biggest potential problem of As- or Pb-enriched pyrite is, therefore, one of refuse disposal.     

Determination of elemental affinities by density fractionation of bulk coal samples from the Chongqing coal district, Southwestern China

The occurrence and distribution of major and trace elements have been investigated in two coal-bearing units in the Chonqing mining district (South China): the Late Permian and Late Triassic coals.The Late Permian coals have higher S contents than the Late Triassic coals due to the fixation of pyrite in marine-influenced coal-forming environments. The occurrence of pyrite accounts for the association of a large number of elements (Fe, S, As, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and Zn) with sulphides, as deduced from the analysis of the density fractions. The marine influence is probably also responsible for the organic association of B. The REEs, Zr, Nb, and Hf, are enriched by a factor of 2–3 with respect to the highest levels fixed for the usual worldwide concentration ranges in coal for these elements. The content of these elements in the Late Permian coal is higher by a factor of 5–10 with respect to the Late Triassic coal. Furthermore, other elements, such as Cu, P, Th, U, V, and Y, are relatively enriched with respect to the common range values, with maximum values higher than the usual range or close to the maximum levels in coal. The content of these elements in the Late Permian coal is higher than the Late Triassic coal. These geochemical enrichments are the consequence of the occurrence, in relatively high levels, of phosphate minerals, such as apatite, xenotime, and monazite, as deduced from the study of the density fractions obtained from the bulk coal.The Late Triassic coal has a low sulphur content with a major organic affinity. The trace element contents are low when compared with worldwide ranges for coal. In this coal, the trace element distribution is governed by clay minerals, carbonate minerals, and to a lesser extent, by organic matter and sulphide minerals.Major differences found between late Permian and Triassic coals are probably related to the source rocks, given that the main source rock of the late Permian epicontinental marine basin is the Emeishan basalt formation, characterised by a high phosphate content.     

沁水盆地石炭——二叠纪含煤岩系高分辨率层序地层及聚煤模式

晋东南沁水盆地的煤层气储层主要是石炭-二叠系煤层,其厚度变化明显受控于当时的沉积环境及层序地层格架。本文对该盆地含煤岩系的太原组和山西组进行了高分辨率层序地层分析,并探讨了主采煤层15号和3号煤层在层序地层格架下的分布模式。以区域性分布的与下切谷砂岩共生的间断面、不整合面、海侵方向转换面、下切谷砂岩底面、由深变浅-再由浅变深的沉积相转换面以及共生的古土壤层为界,将含煤岩系划分为3个三级复合层序和9个四级层序。15号厚煤层和3号厚煤层位于三级海侵(泛)面附近,前者形成于障壁——潟湖及滨外陆棚沉积环境,较低的泥岩堆积速率与较慢的可容空间增长速率相平衡;后者形成于三角洲平原分流间湾环境,较高的泥炭堆积速率与较高的可容空间的增长速率相平衡。太原组的以“根土岩——煤层——海相石灰岩”旋回为代表的四级层序中的煤层可能形成于“海相灰岩层滞后时段”,即从海平面抬升到陆棚之上到碳酸盐岩真正沉积下来之前的时段,因为缓慢的海平面抬升速率与泥炭堆积速率保持较长时间的平衡,从而聚集了厚层的泥炭/煤层。     

Comparison of the Eastern and Western Kentucky coal fields (Pennsylvanian), USA—why are coal distribution patterns and sulfur contents so different in these coal fields?

More than 130 Mt of Pennsylvanian coal is produced annually from two coal fields in Kentucky. The Western Kentucky Coal Field occurs in part of the Illinois Basin, an intercratonic basin, and the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field occurs in the Central Appalachian Basin, a foreland basin. The basins are only separated by 140 km, but mined western Kentucky coal beds exhibit significantly higher sulfur values than eastern Kentucky coals. Higher-sulfur coal beds in western Kentucky have generally been inferred to be caused by more marine influences than for eastern Kentucky coals.Comparison of strata in the two coal fields shows that more strata and more coal beds accumulated in the Eastern than Western Kentucky Coal Field in the Early and Middle Pennsylvanian, inferred to represent greater generation of tectonic accommodation in the foreland basin. Eastern Kentucky coal beds exhibit a greater tendency toward splitting and occurring in zones than time-equivalent western Kentucky coal beds, which is also inferred to represent foreland accommodation influences, overprinted by autogenic sedimentation effects. Western Kentucky coal beds exhibit higher sulfur values than their eastern counterparts, but western Kentucky coals occurring in Langsettian through Bolsovian strata can be low in sulfur content. Eastern Kentucky coal beds may increase in sulfur content beneath marine zones, but generally are still lower in sulfur than mined Western Kentucky coal beds, indicating that controls other than purely marine influences must have influenced coal quality.The bulk of production in the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field is from Duckmantian and Bolsovian coal beds, whereas production in the Western Kentucky Coal Field is from Westphalian D coals. Langsettian through Bolsovian paleoclimates in eastern Kentucky were favorable for peat doming, so numerous low-sulfur coals accumulated. These coals tend to occur in zones and are prone to lateral splitting because of foreland tectonic and sedimentation influences. In contrast, Westphalian D coal beds of western Kentucky accumulated during low differential tectonic accommodation, and therefore tend to be widespread and uniform in characteristics, but exhibit higher sulfur values because they accumulated in seasonally drier paleoclimates that were unfavorable for peat doming. Hence, basin analyses indicate that many differences between the mined coals of Kentucky's two coal fields are related to temporal changes in paleoclimate and tectonic accommodation, rather than solely being a function of marine influences.     

Distribution of sulphur in the tertiary coals of Meghalaya,India

The distribution pattern of the different forms of sulphur in the coal seams of Meghalaya has been worked out. In general, the total sulphur content is found to increase from the base to the top of a seam. There is also a general trend of upward increase of sulphur content in the seam-wise sequence, i.e. the upper seam is found to contain more sulphur than the seam lying below. Pyritic sulphur shows an upward increasing tendency both intraseam- and interseam-wise. Variation in organic sulphur shows an apparent parallelism with that of total sulphur. A gradual decrease in total sulphur content is also seen in the coals of Meghalaya from east to west within the basin of deposition. This regional lateral variation in sulphur content was due to the more marine nature of the peat-forming swamps of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills (eastern Meghalaya) as compared to that of the Garo Hills (western Maghalaya).     

广西合山晚二叠世碳酸盐岩型煤系层序地层分析

广西合山煤田晚二叠世合山组是在浅水碳酸盐台地背景下形成的典型的碳酸盐岩型含煤岩系 ,其沉积环境有滨外陆棚、生物礁、开阔台地、潮坪和泥炭沼泽等。在包括合山组和大隆组在内的整个晚二叠世地层中 ,可以识别出5个层序界面 ,并可根据这些层序界面将区内上二叠统划分为 4个层序。层序 从合山组底面到合山组下段顶部的四 下 煤层底板硅质岩层之底面 ;层序 包括从四 下 煤底板到四 上 煤底板的一套地层 ;层序 为从四 上 煤层底板到二煤层之下铝土质泥岩底板的序列 ;层序 包括从合山组二煤层之下铝土质泥岩底板到大隆组之顶。其中层序 、层序 和层序 厚度在合山煤田范围内变化较大 ,说明受盆地基底沉降作用控制强烈 ,层序 则表现为多次的煤层-石灰岩旋回性 ,并且在合山煤田甚至桂中地区稳定分布 ,说明可能主要受全球海平面变化控制。与滨海平原靠陆一侧的冲积体系的陆源碎屑岩含煤岩系不同 ,陆表海碳酸盐岩型煤系三级层序中的最大海泛带底部以该层序中向上变薄至最薄的一层煤的底面为代表 ,如研究区三 中 煤层底面即为层序 中的最大海泛带底部 ,其下为三级层序中的海侵体系域 ,其上为高位体系域。三级层序中有包含四 上 、三 下 、三 中 、三 上 等煤层为界的 4个四级层序 ,每个四级层序中发育     

中国含煤岩系层序地层学研究进展

层序地层学理论为人们理解聚煤作用模式提供了新的思路,通过近二十年的研究,人们认识到含煤岩系旋回性与不同级别的全球海平面变化规律密切相关,认识到有工业价值的煤层形成于基准面(海平面)抬升过程,相继提出幕式聚煤作用、海侵过程成煤、事件成煤作用、海相层滞后阶段聚煤等基于层序地层分析的聚煤作用理论。同时概括出层序地层格架下基于可容空间增加速率与泥炭堆积速率的关系的厚煤层聚集模式。今后的研究将会进一步对不同构造背景下的含煤岩系层序地层格架样式、层序地层格架下的优质煤炭资源聚集模式、煤层在地球演化的长周期过程中的地质意义等方面进行探索,此外,针对中国五大聚煤区的成煤时期及盆地构造背景的特殊性,中国学者还会进一步总结其层序地层格架样式以及聚煤模式,并将其用于指导中国优质煤炭资源预测     

Paradise (and Herrin) lost: Marginal depositional settings of the Herrin and Paradise coals, Western Kentucky coalfield

This is the fourth installment in a series of papers on the Asturian (Westphalian D) disrupted mire margins, termed the “ragged edge” in previous papers, and limestone distributions in the Herrin–Baker coal interval in the Western Kentucky extension of the Illinois Basin. New data, indicating in-situ peat development and marine influence, collected from the first in-mine exposure of this interval are presented. Borehole data from the region are examined in the context of “ragged edge” exposures and a carbonate platform depositional model for this portion of the Illinois Basin is presented. This shows that deposition of the sequence was influenced both by the underlying sediments and by a marine transgression. The former influence is seen in variations in coal and limestone thickness over sandstone-filled channels versus over shale bayfill deposits. The latter is marked by the progressive upwards loss of coal benches (i.e., the bottom bench of both coals is the most extensive and the Herrin coal is more extensive than the overlying Paradise coal) and by marine partings in both coals. Further, the brecciated margins seen in both coal seams are similar to brecciated peats encountered along the Everglades margins of Southwest Florida. Overall coal distributions are similar to both those along the Everglades margins and those along a transect from the Belize coast to Ambergis Caye.     

Sequence stratigraphy and controls on sedimentation of the Upper Cretaceous in the Afikpo Sub-basin,southeastern Nigeria

Outcrop-based sequence stratigraphic analysis and palynological biofacies were used to define depositional sequences and their bounding surfaces, and build a sequence stratigraphic model for the Upper Cretaceous succession of the Afikpo Sub-basin. Four unconformity-bounded third-order depositional sequences were identified. Sequence 1 comprises the Nkporo Formation and is subdivided into lowstand system tract (LST) representing an incised valley fill and transgressive systems tract (TST) consisting of estuarine and marine shales and mudstones. The base of the sequence is an angular unconformity correlated to the 77.5 Ma sequence boundary (SB) and the maximum flooding surface (MFS) is dated at 76 Ma. Sequence 2 is diachronous and straddles the lithostratigraphic boundary of the Nkporo and Mamu formations. The upper SB is dated at 71 Ma while associated MFS is dated at 73.5 Ma. Sequence 3 consists of the upper Mamu Formation and the Ajali Formation. The upper SB of sequence 3 is at 68 Ma while the MFS is dated at 69.8 Ma. Sequence 4 is the topmost depositional sequence belonging to the Nsukka Formation. The upper SB is placed at 66.5 Ma. The MFS within this sequence is dated at 67.8 Ma. The sequences encompass from tidally influenced bay head delta and central estuarine environments to coastal and shallow marine shelf environments. Stratigraphic architecture and facies types show that sequence development was controlled to a great extent by eustatic sea level variations though differential subsidence rates encouraged differential rates of sediment supply and rates of sea level change along different segments of the shoreline.     

Stratigraphic and regional variation of the petrographic and chemical properties of the Tradewater Formation coals and surrounding rocks in western Kentucky

The stratigraphic and regional variation of petrographic and chemical properties within the coals of the Upper Carboniferous Tradewater Formation and surrounding rocks in the Western Kentucky coal field were analyzed with the intent of constructing a depositional model for the occurrence of these low sulfur coals. Cores were megascopically described, and coal samples were analyzed for maceral, ash, and sulfur contents. These data were then analyzed to determine regional variation within the study area, as well as vertical variation within single coal columns.Sedimentological data from core logs indicate that the majority of the Tradewater rocks consist of irregularly distributed, coarsening-upward, fine-grained detrital material that was deposited in shallow bodies of water. Fossiliferous shales and limestones indicate a marine influence. Less common coarse-grained, fining-upward sequences appear to represent deposits of meandering or braided channels.Like the detrital rocks, the coal seams are irregularly distributed and exhibit substantial variation in petrographic and chemical properties which reflect changes in the Eh and pH of the coal swamp waters. These individual swamps were relatively limited in extent and probably occupied a low-lying coastal area. The relatively high vitrinite content of most of the coals suggests a reasonable degree of preservation of decaying plant materials. The study of benched samples from surface mines suggests a distinct dichotomy between swamps that were in more or less continuous contact with sulfate-rich marine or brackish water and those in which peat accumulated in a dominantly fresh-water setting. Most of the latter show a pattern of upward increasing sulfur content and decreasing vitrinite content, indicating increasing influences of oxygenated water that would encourage microbial action and which would degrade the peat and increase the tendency for sulfide precipitation. The high sulfur coals do not display this variability. The high rates of lateral variability encountered in the data suggest that future study should concentrate on smaller areas where variation can be completely documented.     

Mineral matter and trace elements in coals of the Gunnedah Basin, New South Wales, Australia

The concentrations of major and trace inorganic elements in a succession of Permian coals from the Gunnedah Basin, New South Wales, have been determined by X-ray fluorescence techniques applied to both whole-coal and high-temperature ash samples. The results have been evaluated in the light of quantitative data on the minerals in the same coals, determined from X-ray diffraction study of whole-coal samples using a Rietveld-based interpretation program ( ™), to determine relationships of the trace elements in the coals to the mineral species present. Comparison of the chemical composition of the coal ash interpreted from the quantitative mineralogical study to the actual ash composition determined by XRF analysis shows a high degree of consistency, confirming the validity of the XRD interpretations for the Gunnedah Basin materials. Quartz, illite and other minerals of detrital origin dominate the coals in the upper part of the sequence, whereas authigenic kaolinite is abundant in coals from the lower part of the Permian succession. These minerals are all reduced in abundance, however, and pyrite is a dominant constituent, in coals formed under marine influence at several stratigraphic levels. Calcite and dolomite occur as cleat and fracture infillings, mostly in seams near the top and bottom of the sequence. The potassium-bearing minerals in the detrital fraction are associated with significant concentrations of rubidium, and the authigenic kaolinite with relatively high proportions of titanium. Zirconium is also abundant, with associated P and Hf, in the Gunnedah Basin coal seams. Relationships exhibited by Ti, Zr, Nd and Y are consistent with derivation of the original sediment admixed with the seams from an acid volcanic source. Pyrite in the coals is associated with high concentrations of arsenic and minor proportions of thallium; no other element commonly associated with sulphides in coals, however, appears to occur in significant proportions with the pyrite in the sample suite. Small concentrations of Cl present in the coal are inversely related to the pyrite content, and appear to represent ion-exchange components associated with the organic matter. Strontium and barium are strongly associated with the cleat-filling carbonate minerals. Ge and Ga appear to be related to each other and to the coal's organic matter. Cr and V are also related to each other, as are Ce, La, Nd and Pr, but none of these show any relationship to the organic matter or a particular mineral component.     

Vertical and lateral variation in the petrography of the Upper Cretaceous Sunnyside coal of eastern Utah,USA—implications for the recognition of high-resolution accommodation changes in paralic coal seams

The Sunnyside Member of the Upper Cretaceous Blackhawk Formation in the Book Cliffs of eastern Utah is composed of coal-bearing coastal-plain strata and wave-dominated shoreface deposits. The member includes a thick (up to 6 m), laterally extensive coal seam, which formed in a large ombrotrophic raised mire, parallel to the shoreline of the Western Interior Seaway. The petrographic composition of the Sunnyside coal was investigated by means of maceral analysis and telovitrinite reflectance determinations of closely spaced samples taken from seven vertical sections through the seam. Sampling was carried out in a combination of outcrop and underground mine sites, using lithotype logging to determine sample spacing. The excellent exposure in the study area enables accurate stratigraphic correlation between sampling localities, which are spread over more than 30 km of depositional dip and 50 km of depositional strike. The correlation of petrographic trends between the seven sampled sections demonstrates the reproducibility of the results and suggests that they represent regional-scale accommodation changes, as opposed to localised variation in the mire. On this basis, we are able to identify a high-resolution record of accommodation change throughout the deposition of the Sunnyside coal, spanning two cycles of increasing and decreasing accommodation. We are also able to identify a marine flooding surface within the coal, which can be traced down depositional dip into the time-equivalent shallow-marine strata, where it represents a parasequence boundary. The proportion of detrital minerals is used as the main discriminator of accommodation trends within the coal. Other useful indicators of conditions in the mire include semifusinite, pyrite, and isometamorphic variations in telovitrinite reflectance.     

华北地台寒武纪沉积层序中关键地层单元──海绿石质凝缩层段

构成华北古克拉通盆地的中晚寒武世碳酸盐沉积层序及与三级海平面最大海泛期相关的海绿石质凝缩层段是一沉积速率极低、厚度较薄的海相沉积单元。笔者根据凝缩层段中海绿石矿物的Ｋ２Ｏ百分含量和其内部晶体结构划分出其演化级次和形成时限，得出研究区凝缩层段的形成时限为１０４－１０６年。它们与二级、三级海平面最大海泛滞后期相吻合。该成果对区域地层对比、层序划分、海平面升降史和盆地充填史的恢复起极为重要的作用。     

鸡西煤的无机地球化学研究

鸡西煤田是东北地区重要的炼焦煤基地，由于受成煤环境的影响，原煤灰分较高，影响了煤炭精细加工利用和环境。采用Ｘ射线衍射、红外光谱等分析方法对鸡西煤的无机地球化学特征研究显示，煤中的主要矿物为石英、方解石、粘土矿物、黄铁矿和菱铁矿等，它们分别以不同的状态赋存于有机质中。煤灰的主要成分为ＳｉＯ２和Ａｌ２Ｏ３，其主要源自流水带入泥炭沼泽的石英和粘土等同生矿物。元素分析表明，煤中硫、磷及微量元素锗和镓等含量较低。     

Isotopic evidence for the origin of sulfur in the Herrin (no. 6) coal member of Illinois

The sulfur isotopic composition of the Herrin (No. 6) Coal from several localities in the Illinois Basin was measured. The sediments immediately overlying these coal beds range from marine shales and limestones to non-marine shales. Organic sulfur, disseminated pyrite, and massive pyrite were extracted from hand samples taken in vertical sections.The $\text{δ}{}^{34}\text{S}$ values from low-sulfur coals (< 0.8% organic sulfur) underlying nonmarine shale were +3.4 to +7.3%₀ for organic sulfur, +1.8 to +16.8%₀ for massive pyrite, and +3.9 to +23.8%₀ for disseminated pyrite. In contrast, the $\text{δ}{}^{34}\text{S}\text{values from high-sulfur coals}$ (> 0.8% organic sulfur) underlying marine sediments were more variable: organic sulfur, ?7.7 to +0.5%₀, pyrites, ?17.8 to +28.5%₀. In both types of coal, organic sulfur is typically enriched in ³⁴S relative to pyritic sulfur.In general, δ ³⁴S values increased from the top to the base of the bed. Vertical and lateral variations in δ ³⁴S are small for organic sulfur but are large for pyritic sulfur. The sulfur content is relatively constant throughout the bed, with organic sulfur content greater than disseminated pyrite content. The results indicate that most of the organic sulfur in high-sulfur coals is derived from post-depositional reactions with a ³⁴S-depleted source. This source is probably related to bacterial reduction of dissolved sulfate in Carboniferous seawater during a marine transgression after peat deposition. The data suggest that sulfate reduction occurred in an open system initially, and then continued in a closed system as sea water penetrated the bed.Organic sulfur in the low-sulfur coals appears to reflect the original plant sulfur, although diagenetic changes in content and isotopic composition of this fraction cannot be ruled out. The wide variability of the δ ³⁴S in pyrite fractions suggests a complex origin involving varying extents of microbial H₂S production from sulfate reservoirs of different isotopic compositions. The precipitation of pyrite may have begun soon after deposition and continued throughout the coalification process.     

A sequence stratigraphic model for the Lower Coal Measures (Upper Carboniferous) of the Ruhr district, north-west Germany

Upper Carboniferous Coal Measures strata have been interpreted traditionally in terms of cyclothems bounded by marine flooding surfaces (marine bands) and coal seams. Correlation of such cyclothems in an extensive grid of closely spaced coal exploration boreholes provides a robust stratigraphic framework in which to study the Lower Coal Measures (Namurian C–Westphalian A) of the Ruhr district, north-west Germany. Three distinct types of cyclothem are recognized, based on their bounding surfaces and internal facies architecture. (1) Type 1 cyclothems are bounded by marine bands. Each cyclothem comprises a thick (30–80 m), regionally extensive, coarsening-upward delta front succession of interbedded shales, siltstones and sandstones, which may be deeply incised by a major fluvial sandstone complex. The delta front succession is capped by a thin (<1 m), regionally extensive coal seam and an overlying marine band defining the top of the cyclothem. (2) Type 2 cyclothems are bounded by thick (≈1 m), regionally extensive coal seams with few splits. The basal part of a typical cyclothem comprises a thick (15–50 m), widespread, coarsening-upward delta front or lake infill succession consisting of interbedded shales, siltstones and sandstones. Networks of major (>5 km wide, 20–40 m thick), steep-sided, multistorey fluvial sandstone complexes erode deeply into and, in some cases, through these successions and are overlain by the coal seam defining the cyclothem top. (3) Type 3 cyclothems are bounded by regionally extensive coal seam groups, characterized by numerous seam splits on a local (0·1–10 km) scale. Intervening strata vary in thickness (15–60 m) and are characterized by strong local facies variability. Root-penetrated, aggradational floodplain heteroliths pass laterally into single-storey fluvial channel-fill sandstones and coarsening-upward, shallow lake infill successions of interbedded shales, siltstones and sandstones over distances of several hundred metres to a few kilometres. Narrow (<2 km) but thick (20–50 m) multistorey fluvial sandstone complexes are rare, but occur in a few type 3 cyclothems. Several cyclothems are observed to change character from type 1 to type 2 and from type 2 to type 3 up the regional palaeoslope. Consequently, we envisage a model in which each cyclothem type represents a different palaeogeographic belt within the same, idealized delta system, subject to the same allogenic and autogenic controls on facies architecture. Type 1 cyclothems are dominated by deltaic shorelines deposited during a falling stage and lowstand of sea level. Type 2 cyclothems represent the coeval lower delta plain, which was deeply eroded by incised valleys that fed the falling stage and lowstand deltas. Type 3 cyclothems comprise mainly upper delta plain deposits in which the allogenic sea-level control was secondary to autogenic controls on facies architecture. The marine bands, widespread coals and coal seam groups that bound these three cyclothem types record abandonment of the delta system during periods of rapid sea-level rise. The model suggests that the extant cyclothem paradigm does not adequately describe the detailed facies architecture of Lower Coal Measures strata. Instead, these architectures may be better understood within a high-resolution stratigraphic framework incorporating sequence stratigraphic key surfaces, integrated with depositional models derived from analogous Pleistocene–Holocene fluvio-deltaic strata.     

近海型含煤岩系沉积学及层序地层学研究进展

层序地层学是近20年来发展起来的一门新的方法学科,并在聚煤作用分析中得到广泛应用。作者就近海型含煤岩系沉积学研究历史以及煤系层序地层学研究方法及有关问题进行探讨,认为近海环境的聚煤作用实际上是海平面(基准面)上升过程中发生的,同时提出煤层厚度受泥炭堆积速率与可容空间增加速率的控制：靠陆一侧冲积平原和三角洲平原沉积环境中,厚煤层主要出现在最大海泛面位置;而靠海一侧障壁-潟湖或碳酸盐岩台地沉积环境中,厚煤层主要出现在初始海泛面的位置;但就整个三级复合层序来说,层序中厚度最大、分布最广的煤层主要分布于可容空间增加速率最大的最大海泛面附近的位置。对于中国晚古生代近海型煤系中常见的“根土岩-煤-石灰岩”序列,聚煤作用发生于海相石灰岩“滞后时段”,即在海侵之后、海相石灰岩层真正沉积下来之前的时段,这一时段可容空间增加速率与泥炭堆积速率平衡,有利于聚煤作用发生。