Controls on peat accumulation in the Permian Vryheid Formation in a part of northern Natal,South Africa

The early Permian Vryheid Formation is a fluviodeltaic tongue of sediment deposited on the passive northern margin of an asymmetric, intracontinental linear trough (Karoo basin). In the study area these strata attain a maximum thickness of about 270 m, comprising three informal lithostratigraphic members (Lower zone, Coal zone and Upper zone).The Coal zone is characterized by arkosic, coarse to very coarse, pebbly sandstones and subordinate fines arranged in upward-fining sequences, many of which are coal-capped. These units are interpreted as distal outwash fan deposits.Sedimentation patterns in the Upper and Lower zones are dominated by superimposed upward-coarsening sequences representing repeated wave/fluvially-dominated fan delta progradation.Peat accumulation in the cool, seasonal climate which prevailed during Vryheid Formation sedimentation was slow. Significant peat thicknesses were deposited only in areas of low basin/compaction subsidence in the Coal zone during a period of general stability. Extensive upper delta plain and alluvial plain peats formed on broad platforms created by abandonment of braided channel systems. The thickest peats accumulated in raised swamps where vegetation-stabilized contemporaneous channels promoted a high water table. Peat erosion by later channel activity was slight since channel widening rather than stream-bed erosion prevailed. Coals thin, split and contain more ash near loci of contemporaneous channel activity. Upper delta plain coals were not marine-influenced. Some lower delta plain coals also formed on broad abandoned deltas and are likewise extensive. Rapid compaction subsidence rates attracted channel activity or marine incursions and the seams are thin. Peats also accumulated in restricted emergent interdistributory bays during delta construction. These coals are thin, discontinuous, marine-influenced and contain numerous clastic partings.     

Palaeoenvironmental control on coal formation, distribution and quality in the Permian Vryheid Formation, East Witbank Coalfield, South Africa

The No. 1 and No. 2 coal seams from the Permian Vryheid Formation in the east Witbank Coalfield, South Africa are described with respect to their distribution, thickness and quality. These two coal seams accumulated in a postglacial climatic environment and peat accumulation was closely associated with and influenced by deposition in a braided river system. The fluvial channels that were syndepositional with peat accumulation have resulted in thinning of coal below and above channel axes and pinch-out of coal adjacent to channel margins. Low-ash coal originated from peat which accumulated in areas away from the influence of clastic sedimentation. In contrast, higher-ash coals are situated adjacent and parallel to channel margins where interbedded channel sand and silt contaminated the peat.The lower No. 1 seam peat originated under near-optimum conditions in a lacustrine swamp which blanketed an underlying platform of glaciofluvial braided river sediment. This peat swamp was not subjected to syndepositional clastic contamination and as a result is of superior quality (lower ash/higher calorific value and volatile matter) than the overlying No. 2 coal seam. The No. 2 seam is split by a clastic parting produced by a braided fluvial channel which transected the swamp midway through peat accumulation. This fluvial clastic parting deleteriously affected coal thickness and quality.A comparison of the Gondwanan Permian peat-forming conditions with those from Carboniferous northern hemisphere counterparts suggests that the differences in coal characteristics between these two regions are probably related to different palaeoclimatic conditions and basin tectonics. Cool-temperate climatic conditions which prevailed over the Permian peat swamps resulted in less species diversification of vegetation at these high-latitude settings than the diverse floral assemblages of the Carboniferous swamps. A stable intracronic basin platform caused lateral dispersion of sedimentary facies rather than the stacking of vertical facies which occurred in rapidly subsiding depositories. Partial exposure of the Permian peat swamps during peat accumulation may account for the relatively higher inertinite content of the coals.     

Braidplain deposition of the Upper Triassic Molteno Formation in the main Karoo (Gondwana) Basin, South Africa

ABSTRACT The Upper Triassic (Carnian?) Molteno Formation in the main Karoo (Gondwana) Basin, South Africa forms a northerly thinning, intracratonic clastic wedge comprising sandstones, shales and coals occurring within thick (up to 140 m) laterally persistent fining-upward sequences. These sequences were deposited by braided streams draining an alluvial plain which may have been built on to the distal slopes of alluvial fan complexes of glacial outwash type. Geometric relations between sequences indicate three phases of tectonic activity. The lowermost fining-upward sequence in the south accumulated against a rising mountain front; cessation of movement and an eastward shift in the main locus of tectonism and sedimentation was followed by renewed uplift and basinwide progradation of the second fining-upward sequence adjacent to a fault-block granite terrain located close to the present south-east coastline of South Africa. This is believed to be the granite at the eastern end of the Falkland Island Plateau, an interpretation consistent with its position on most continental reconstructions and the fracture zone marking its northern scarp face. Faulting is attributed to the first phase of extension prior to continental breakup. The sourceward recession and lack of gross fining-upward trends shown by the uppermost fining-upward sequences is accounted for by limited back-faulting of the still active basin margin. Cessation of activity and further basin margin recession occurred with deposition of the overlying floodplain deposits (Elliot Formation) which were distal equivalents of the braided alluvial plain.     

Controls on peat accumulation and depositional environments of a coal-bearing coastal plain succession of a pull-apart basin; a petrographic, geochemical and sedimentological study, Lower Jurassic, Denmark

The paralic, Lower-Middle Jurassic Bagå Formation of the Island of Bornholm, Denmark, was deposited in a fault-bounded, subsiding, pull-apart basin. The formation is up to 400 m thick and contains more than 50 coal seams. Twelve of these have been investigated petrographically and geochemically to provide basic information on the composition of the relatively unknown Jurassic coals. The peat-forming environments represented by the seams and the associated siliciclastic sediments are interpreted.The seams represent three types of environments with organic matter deposition. Peat accumulation occurred in low-lying areas situated between river channels in a coastal plain environment undergoing overall transgression. The coals have a relatively uniform, huminite-rich petrographic composition, indicating that the precursor mires were dominated by persistent, water-saturated and anoxic conditions. The swamps were probably occupied by a small-statured flora with cellulose-rich tissues. Significant bacterial activity in the peat swamps is suggested by an abundance of hopanes. Influence from marine water was not common but occurred occasionally. During peat accumulation, the depositional conditions were stable and quiet. The small thicknesses of the seams (8–57 cm thick) indicate relatively short periods of peat formation (average c. 2300 yr), due to continued base-level rise, controlled by subsidence, and an overall eustatic rise, causing repeated changes in the sedimentary regimes. The coal seams are of low rank and were buried to a depth of 1100–1200 m before uplift, due to Late Cretaceous-early Tertiary basin inversion and Neogene uplift.     

华北晚古生代成煤环境与成煤模式多样性研究

华北晚古生代聚煤盆地存在活动体系成煤环境和废弃体系成煤环境。前者的海相成煤环境主要为泻湖泥炭坪,陆相成煤环境以三角洲平原沼泽意义最大。晚石炭世至晚二叠世,海相为主的成煤环境逐渐被陆相为主的成煤环境所取代,由盆缘到盆内成煤环境总体呈环带状展布。成煤环境差异性影响了成煤特点,这些成煤特点成为识别海、陆相煤层的显著相标志。华北晚古生代聚煤盆地在时间上和空间上存在成煤模式的多样性,以陆表海滨岸成煤模式、废弃碎屑体系成煤模式和浅水三角洲成煤模式为主。     

Geologic and geomorphic controls of coal development in some Tertiary Rocky Mountain basins, USA

Previous investigations have not well defined the controls on the development of minable coals in fluvial environments. This study was undertaken to provide a clearer understanding of these controls, particularly in of the lower Tertiary coal-bearing deposits of the Raton and Powder River basins in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. In this region, large amounts of coals accumulated in swamps formed in the flow-through fluvial systems that infilled these intermontane basins. Extrabasinal and intrabasinal tectonism partly controlled the stratigraphic and facies distributions of minable coal deposits. The regional accumulation of coals was favored by the rapid basin subsidence coupled with minimal uplift of the source area. During these events, coals developed in swamps associated with anastomosed and meandering fluvial systems and alluvial fans. The extensive and high rate of sediment input from these fluvial systems promoted the formation of ombrotrophic, raised swamps, which produced low ash and anomalously thick coals. The petrology and palynology of these coals, and the paleobotany of the associated sediments, suggest that ombrotrophic, raised swamps were common in the Powder River Basin, where the climate during the early Tertiary was paratropical. The paleoecology of these swamps is identical to that of the modern ombrotrophic, raised swamps of the Baram and Mahakam Rivers of Borneo.     

An overview of the Permian (Karoo) coal deposits of southern Africa

The coal deposits of southern Africa (Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) are reviewed. The coal seams formed during two periods, the Early Permian (Artinskian–Kungurian) and the Late Permian (Ufimian–Kazanian). The coals are associated with non-marine terrestrial clastic sedimentary sequences, most commonly mudrock and sandstones, assigned to the Karoo Supergroup. The Early Permian coals are most commonly sandstone-hosted while the younger coals typically occur interbedded with mudstones. The sediments were deposited in varying tectono-sedimentary basins such as foreland, intracratonic rifts and intercratonic grabens and half-grabens. The depositional environments that produced the coal-bearing successions were primarily deltaic and fluvial, with some minor shoreline and lacustrine settings. Coals vary in rank from high-volatile bituminous to anthracite and characteristically have a relatively high inertinite component, and medium- to high-ash content. In countries where coal is mined, it is used for power generation, coking coal, synfuel generation, gasification and for (local) domestic household consumption.     

Relationship between Net Subsidence and Coal Cycle Parameters—A Statistical Appraisal from Subsurface Logs of Damuda Group,Talchir Gondwana Basin,India

Total thickness of strata and coal cycle parameters of the three formations, i.e. Karharbari, Barakar, and Barren Measures of the Damuda Group of the Talchir Gondwana basin were subjected to bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses. Polynomial regression lines were fitted to data sets consisting of total thickness of strata, number of coal cycles, and average thickness of coal cycles of the three formations of the Damuda Group. A significant direct relationship is observed between total thickness (net subsidence) of strata and number of coal cycles, while a significant inverse relationship exists between the number of coal cycles and their average thickness. Principal component and multiple regression analyses suggest that lithological parameters of the coal bearing strata reflect the dynamic of the basin subsidence. The sedimentary distributive mechanism in the form of lateral migration of streams or drainage diversion caused in response to differential subsidence of the depositional surface seem to be appropriate mechanisms for the development of coal cycles and peat swamps in the Talchir basin. Often during Karharbari sedimentation, peat accumulated in abandoned channels was scoured away by high energy migrating channels. On the other hand, Barakar peat swamps developed in a distal part of the flood plain, as a result of which many of the coal seams could be of appreciable thickness. The advent of arid climatic condition retarded the growth of vegetation to a larger extent that prevented profuse development of coal seams during the Barren Measures Formation.     

Basin fill evolution and paleotectonic patterns along the Samfrau geosyncline: the Sauce Grande basin–Ventana foldbelt (Argentina) and Karoo basin–Cape foldbelt (South Africa) revisited

As integral parts of du Toit’s (1927) “Samfrau Geosyncline”, the Sauce Grande basin–Ventana foldbelt (Argentina) and Karoo basin–Cape foldbelt (South Africa) share similar paleoclimatic, paleogeographic, and paleotectonic aspects related to the Late Paleozoic tectono-magmatic activity along the Panthalassan continental margin of Gondwanaland. Late Carboniferou-earliest Permian glacial deposits were deposited in the Sauce Grande (Sauce Grande Formation) and Karoo (Dwyka Formation) basins and Falkland–Malvinas Islands (Lafonia Formation) during an initial (sag) phase of extension. The pre-breakup position of the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands on the easternmost part of the Karoo basin (immediately east of the coast of South Africa) is supported by recent paleomagnetic data, lithofacies associations, paleoice flow directions and age similarities between the Dwyka and the Lafonia glacial sequences. The desintegration of the Gondwanan Ice Sheet (GIS) triggered widespread transgressions, reflected in the stratigraphic record by the presence of inter-basinally correlatable, open marine, fine-grained deposits (Piedra Azul Formation in the Sauce Grande basin, Prince Albert Formation in the Karoo basin and Port Sussex Formation in the Falkland Islands) capping glacial marine sediments. These early postglacial transgressive deposits, characterised by fossils of the Eurydesma fauna and Glossopteris flora, represent the maximum flooding of the basins. Cratonward foreland subsidence was triggered by the San Rafael orogeny (ca. 270 Ma) in Argentina and propogated along the Gondwanan margin. This subsidence phase generated sufficient space to accommodate thick synorogenic sequences derived from the orogenic flanks of the Sauce Grande and Karoo basins. Compositionally, the initial extensional phase of these basins was characterized by quartz-rich, craton-derived detritus and was followed by a compressional (foreland) phase characterized by a paleocurrent reversal and dominance of arc/foldbelt-derived material. In the Sauce Grande basin, tuffs are interbedded in the upper half of the synorogenic, foldbelt-derived Tunas Formation (Early–early Late? Permian). Likewise, the first widespread appearance of tuffs in the Karoo basin is in the Whitehill Formation, of late Early Permian (260?Ma) age. Silicic volcanism along the Andes and Patagonia (Choiyoi magmatic province) peaked between the late Early Permian and Late Permian. A link between these volcanics and the consanguineous airborne tuffs present in the Sauce Grande and Karoo basins is suggested on the basis of their similar compositions and ages.     

贵州纳雍地区含煤地层龙潭组中上段三角洲沉积体系

贵州纳雍地区含煤地层龙潭组中上段形成于三角洲沉积体系,其中中段形成于潮汐影响的河控三角州沉积体系;上段形成于坝后河控三角洲沉积体系。每一种沉积体系的持续发展形成了一个沉积幕,分别包括4个成因单元。每个成因单元代表了该沉积体系在某一阶段内受海平面升降影响而沉积的一套完整的进积至后期废弃沉积。这些沉积由5种沉积相,即上三角洲平原;下三角洲平原;水下三角洲平原;三角洲间湾（或边缘）以及三角洲废弃相组合构成。两种不同类型的三角洲沉积体系聚煤作用有着根本的差别:受潮汐影响的河控三角洲沉积体系代表了龙潭组最活动的碎屑沉积部分,聚煤差,煤层普遍不可采;坝后河控三角洲沉积体系相对较稳定,聚煤好,煤层普遍可采。不同环境和相组合中聚煤作用也不同,本区以上三角洲平原和三角洲间湾（或边缘）环境聚煤最好。总之该三角洲沉积体系是我国海陆交替相含煤地层中沉积厚度大、聚煤最丰富的三角洲沉积体系之一。     

Sedimentation rate and subsidence history of the southeastern Karoo Basin,South Africa,using 1D backstripping method

Backstripping analysis has been carried out on five boreholes and one outcrop section of the Ecca Group in the Main Karoo Basin of South Africa to determine the sedimentation rate and subsidence history of the basin. The result shows that the rate of sedimentation in the Prince Albert, Whitehill, Collingham, Ripon and Fort Brown Formations range between 0.003–0.03, 0.02–0.05, 0.01–0.05, 0.03–0.22, and 0.15–0.025 mm year^?1, respectively. The backstripped subsidence curves that are constructed by removing the effects of decompaction to the water column and sediment loads show subsidence rates decreasing with time, resembling the typical thermal subsidence curves of passive continental margins. Three major subsidence episodes characterized the Ecca Group, namely, (1) rapid subsidence in an extensional regime, (2) slow subsidence in the middle of basin development and (3) another rapid subsidence in a compressional regime. The aforementioned subsidence episodes show that the southeastern Karoo Basin was located on a passive continental margin, suggesting that the subsidence was initiated and mainly controlled by mechanical (gravitational loading) or tectonic events, with little contribution of thermal events. The average rate of tectonic subsidence in the Prince Albert, Whitehill, Collingham, Ripon and Fort Brown Formations are 63, 28, 25, 215 and 180 m Ma^?1, respectively. It is also inferred that the southeastern Karoo Basin evolved from a passive continental margin into an Andean-type continental foreland basin; thus, portraying a completely evolved post-rift setting along the southeastern Gondwana margin.     

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.     

新疆吐哈盆地中、下侏罗统含煤岩系层序地层及古地理

在吐哈盆地中、下侏罗统含煤岩系层序地层分析的基础上,对聚煤期古地理特征及其与聚煤作用的关系进行了研究。结果表明,吐哈盆地中、下侏罗统含煤岩系形成于河流-三角洲-湖泊沉积体系,其中共发育4个三级层序,分别对应于八道湾组、三工河组、西山窑组一、二段和三、四段。吐哈盆地从层序Ⅰ到层序Ⅳ,先后经历了沼泽（层序Ⅰ）-湖泊（层序Ⅱ）-沼泽（层序Ⅲ）-湖泊（层序Ⅳ）过程。在对应于最大湖泛面的湖侵体系域末期和高位体系域早期,较快的可容空间增加速率与泥炭堆积速率相平衡,从而有利于厚煤层的堆积。煤层厚度、碳质泥岩厚度与砂砾岩含量呈负相关关系,即砂砾岩含量越少,煤和碳质泥岩厚度越大;地层厚度300～500 m（层序Ⅰ）和400～550m之间（层序Ⅲ）时,煤层厚度最大,说明有利于煤和碳质泥岩聚集的环境是沉降速率中等、陆源碎屑供给相对较少的三角洲间湾、湖湾以及下三角洲平原环境,层序Ⅰ和层序Ⅲ的聚煤中心如艾维尔沟、柯尔碱、桃树园、七泉湖、柯柯亚、鄯善、艾丁湖、沙尔湖、大南湖和三道岭等均属于这类环境。     

Factors controlling the vegetation distribution and coal‐forming environments in a strike‐slip basin. The Pennsylvanian Peñarroya‐Belmez‐Espiel Basin,southern Spain

Coal‐forming environments require humid to perhumid conditions. Tectonics governs the size, location and availability of coal seams developed in such environments. While large Pennsylvanian paralic basins generated thick and continuous coal seams, many other small coeval basins, which were tectonically active, developed a puzzling succession, with carbonaceous deposits that varied in size, thickness and the nature of the coal‐forming flora. This study, conducted in the Peñarroya‐Belmez‐Espiel coalfield, a Variscan strike‐slip basin in the south of Spain, provides insights into this subject. The coal seams analysed, generated in different depositional environments, have quantitatively different palynological assemblages. Lacustrine coals are dominated by lycopsids; distal alluvial plain/marginal lacustrine coals are dominated by sphenophytes and tree ferns, and middle alluvial fan coals are dominated by sphenophytes, tree ferns and lycopsids. This means that when conditions were favourable for peat accumulation, peat accumulated regardless of the nature of the available flora.     

Organic petrology of Paleocene Marcelina Formation coals, Paso Diablo mine, western Venezuela: Tectonic controls on coal type

About 7 Mt of high volatile bituminous coal are produced annually from the four coal zones of the Upper Paleocene Marcelina Formation at the Paso Diablo open-pit mine of western Venezuela. As part of an ongoing coal quality study, we have characterized twenty-two coal channel samples from the mine using organic petrology techniques. Samples also were analyzed for proximate–ultimate parameters, forms of sulfur, free swelling index, ash fusion temperatures, and calorific value.Six of the samples represent incremental benches across the 12–13 m thick No. 4 bed, the stratigraphically lowest mined coal, which is also mined at the 10 km distant Mina Norte open-pit. Organic content of the No. 4 bed indicates an upward increase of woody vegetation and/or greater preservation of organic material throughout the life of the original mire(s). An upward increase in telovitrinite and corresponding decrease in detrovitrinite and inertinite illustrate this trend. In contrast, stratigraphically higher coal groups generally exhibit a ‘dulling upward’ trend.The generally high inertinite content, and low ash yield and sulfur content, suggest that the Paso Diablo coals were deposited in rain-fed raised mires, protected from clastic input and subjected to frequent oxidation and/or moisture stress. However, the two thinnest coal beds (both 0.7 m thick) are each characterized by lower inertinite and higher telovitrinite content relative to the rest of Paso Diablo coal beds, indicative of less well-established raised mire environments prior to drowning.Foreland basin Paleocene coals of western Venezuela, including the Paso Diablo deposit and time-correlative coal deposits of the Táchira and Mérida Andes, are characterized by high inertinite and consistently lower ash and sulfur relative to Eocene and younger coals of the area. We interpret these age-delimited coal quality characteristics to be due to water availability as a function of the tectonic control of subsidence rate. It is postulated that slower subsidence rates dominated during the Paleocene while greater foreland basin subsidence rates during the Eocene–Miocene resulted from the loading of nappe thrust sheets as part of the main construction phases of the Andean orogen. South-southeastward advance and emplacement of the Lara nappes during the oblique transpressive collision of the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates in the Paleocene was further removed from the sites of peat deposition, resulting in slower subsidence rates. Slower subsidence in the Paleocene may have favored the growth of raised mires, generating higher inertinite concentrations through more frequent moisture stress. Consistently low ash yield and sulfur content would be due to the protection from clastic input in raised mires, in addition to the leaching of mineral matter by rainfall and the development of acidic conditions preventing fixation of sulfur. In contrast, peat mires of Eocene–Miocene age encountered rapid subsidence due to the proximity of nappe emplacement, resulting in lower inertinite content, higher and more variable sulfur content, and higher ash yield.     

鄂尔多斯盆地西缘断褶带南部二叠系山西组沉积特征及煤炭资源勘查潜力

研究区位于鄂尔多斯盆地西缘断褶带南部的平凉市安国-峡门-小湾子一带。通过对该区二叠系山西组沉积特征研究,对赋煤地质条件和煤炭资源勘查前景进行了评价。本区二叠系山西组含煤沉积、成煤条件受古隆起及其决定的古地理环境的影响,沉积物源供给区主要为研究区南部,沉积环境为曲流河及三角洲,沉积期后构造作用导致了已沉积地层的剥蚀、变形等,致使二叠系山西组煤层在研究区分布面积小、结构复杂、稳定性差、原煤灰分高。本区山西组含煤地层由于受多种因素的影响和控制,区内未能形成并保留规模较大的煤田,找煤工作应选在安国-峡门-小湾子向斜及周边进行。      

Permo-Carboniferous coal measures in the Qinshui basin: Lithofacies paleogeography and its control on coal accumulation

The Qinshui basin in southeastern Shanxi Province is an important base for coalbed methane exploration and production in China. The methane reservoirs in this basin are the Carboniferous and Permian coals. Their thickness is strongly controlled by the depositional environments and the paleogeography. In this paper, sedimentological research was undertaken on the outcrop and borehole sections of the Taiyuan and Shanxi formations in the Qinshui basin and the basin-wide lithofacies paleogeography maps for these two formations have been reconstructed. The Taiyuan Formation is composed of limestones, aluminous mudstones, siltstones, silty mudstones, sandstones, and mineable coal seams, with a total thickness varying from 44.9 m to 193.48 m. The coal seams have a thickness ranging between 0.10 and 16.89 m, averaging 7.19 m. During the deposition of the Taiyuan Formation, the northern part of the basin was dominated by a lower deltaic depositional system, the central and southern parts were dominated by a lagoon environment, and the southeastern corner was occupied by a carbonate platform setting. Coal is relatively thick in the northern part and the southeastern corner. The Shanxi Formation consists of sandstones, siltstones, mudstones, and coals, with the limestones being locally developed. The thickness of the Shanxi Formation is from 18.6 m to 213.25 m, with the thickness of coal seams from 0.10 to 10 m and averaging 4.2 m. During the deposition of the Shanxi Formation, the northern part of the Qinshui basin was mainly dominated by a lower deltaic plain distributary channel environment, the central and southern parts were mainly an interdistributary bay environment, and the southeastern part was occupied by a delta front mouth bar environment. The thick coals are distributed in the central and southern parts where an interdistributary bay dominates. It is evident that the thick coal zones of the Taiyuan Formation are consistent with the sandstone-rich belts, mainly located in the areas of the northern lower deltaic plain and southeastern barrier bar environments, whereas the thick coal zones of the Shanxi Formation coincide with the mudstone-rich belts, located in the areas of the central and southern interdistributary bay environments. Translated from Journal of Palaeogeography, 2006, 8(1): 43–52 [译自: 古地理学报]     

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.     

Stratigraphy,palynology and geochemistry of the Lower Eocene coals of Arauco,Chile

The Arauco Sedimentary basin of Chile (37° −37° 45′S, 73° 08′ −73° 41′W) contains the most important reserves of bituminous coals of Chile. These are concentrated in two Formations: Curanilahue (Lower Eocene) and Trihueco (Middle Eocene). Five coal seams from the Lota Member of the Curanilahue Formation have been studied from the stratigraphic, palynologic and geochemical point of view. These coals were formed during a regressive stratigraphic episode; the palynological assemblage indicates that the climatic conditions prevailing at the time were of high humidity and temperature. These coals from a geochemical point of view are characterized by high sulphur (2.02%), ash (11.9%) and Ge (67.5 ppm; 1224.3 ppm in ash).