Mid‐Holocene sub‐blanket‐peat alluvia and sediment sources in the upper Liffey valley,Co. Wicklow,Ireland

A recently exposed section across a ?rst‐order valley buried beneath the regional blanket peat on hillside slopes in the upper Liffey valley, Co. Wicklow, is described. The section shows two alluvia within a shallow valley form underlain by an extensive boulder and stone line over regional till and weathered granite. ¹⁴C dates from wood in the alluvia indicate the older alluvium to have formed between 4324 ± 53 BP and 4126 ± 45 BP and the younger between 3217 ± 53 BP and 2975 ± 53 BP . The basal layer of the overlying peat yielded a date of 2208 ± 61 BP . The younger alluvium shows the effects of soil paludi?cation prior to the peat expansion. Dated pollen analyses elsewhere in the upper catchment con?rm the spread of blanket peat over most areas above 350 m after 4000–3600 BP . The buried valley was contributing sediments to the mid‐Holocene ?oodplains in the upper Liffey valley prior to the extension of blanket peat over the catchment after which sediment yields from it and the other catchment slopes declined. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Architecture of coastal and alluvial deposits in an extensional basin: the Carboniferous Joggins Formation of eastern Canada

Abstract The Joggins Formation was deposited in the Cumberland Basin, which experienced rapid mid‐Carboniferous subsidence on bounding faults. A 600 m measured section of coastal and alluvial plain strata comprises cycles tens to hundreds of metres thick. The cycles commence with coal and fossiliferous limestone/siltstone intervals, interpreted as widespread flooding events. These intervals are overlain by coarsening‐upward successions capped by planar‐based sandstone mounds, up to 100 m in width that represent the progradation of small, river‐generated delta lobes into a standing body of open water developed during transgression. The overlying strata contain sand‐rich heterolithic packages, 1–8 m thick, that are associated with channel bodies 2–3 m thick and 10–50 m wide. Drifted plant debris, Calamites groves and erect lycopsid trees are preserved within these predominantly green‐grey heterolithic sediments, which were deposited on a coastal wetland or deltaic plain traversed by channel systems. The cycles conclude with red siltstones, containing calcareous nodules, that are interbedded with thin sandstones and associated with both single‐storey channel bodies (1–1·5 m thick and 2–3 m wide) and larger, multistorey channels (3–6 m thick) with incised margins. Numerous channel bodies at the same level suggest that multiple‐channel, anastomosed river systems were developed on a well‐drained floodplain. Many minor flooding surfaces divide the strata into parasequences with dominantly progradational and aggradational stacking patterns. Multistorey channel bodies are relatively thin, fine grained and modestly incised, and palaeosols are immature and cumulative. The abundance and prominence of flooding surfaces suggests that base‐level rise was enhanced, whereas the lack of evidence for abrupt basinward stepping of facies belts, coupled with the absence of strong fluvial incision and mature palaeosols, suggests that base‐level fall was suppressed. These architectural features are considered to reflect a tectonic architectural signature, in accordance with the high‐subsidence basinal setting. Evidence for restricted marine influence and variation in floral assemblages suggests modulation by eustatic and climatic effects, although their relative importance is uncertain.     

Coal mining along the Warfield Fault, Mingo County, West Virginia: a tale of ups and downs

Mine development along a 15-mile (24 km) section of the Warfield Fault in Mingo County, West Virginia has broadened the geological understanding of the fault and its related structures. The fault has been exposed in two new road cuts, one in the northeast-trending segment at Neely Branch and one in the eastern east-trending segment at the head of Marrowbone Creek. Both exposures show a well-defined normal fault with a 45° to 55° N dip, juxtaposing sandstone/shale packages from the roof and the floor of the Coalburg seam. The fault is associated with a thin gouge zone, some drag folding, and parallel jointing. Its trace tends to run parallel to the crest of the adjacent Warfield Anticline. Based on underground mine development and detailed core drilling, the vertical offset along the fault plane ranges from a maximum of 240 ft (73 m) in the central part of the area near the structural bend to less than 100 ft (30 m) in western and eastern directions. The fault is located along the relatively steeply dipping (locally in excess of 25%) southern limb of the Warfield Anticline, and appears related to a late phase of extension involving folded Pennsylvanian strata. On a regional scale, the lithological variations across the fault do not suggest any appreciable strike-slip component.Underground room and pillar mines in the Coalburg seam north and south of the fault have been greatly impacted by the Warfield structures. Due to the combined (and opposite) effects of the folding and faulting, the northern mines are located up to 400 ft (125 m) higher in elevation than the southern ones. Overland conveyor belts connect mining blocks separated by the fault. The practical mining limit along the steep slopes toward the fault is around 15%. Subsidiary normal faults with offsets in the 5- to 15-ft (1.5–4.5 m) range are fairly common and form major roof control and production hurdles. Overall, the Warfield structures pose an extra challenge to mine development in this part of the Appalachian Coalfields.     

含裂隙煤层底板突水规律的数值模拟与工程应用

本文结合淮北杨庄矿某工作面实际工程情况, 利用NCAP-2D-W对煤层底板突水进行多方案的数值模拟试验研究。主要内容包括:(1) 考虑在承压水不变的条件下,设计不同裂隙分布状态,探讨单裂隙、多裂隙、不同长度裂隙对煤层底板破坏的影响及开采矿压对裂隙顶部破坏的影响;(2) 考虑承压水的变化,分别考虑单裂隙和多裂隙两种分布状态,探讨裂隙对煤层底板破坏的影响及开采矿压对裂隙底部破坏的影响。通过分析受采动荷载、岩层结构变化、煤层底板中裂隙分布状态及承压水变化等因素影响的数值试验,获得了随开采工作面不断推进煤层底板破坏区的发展、突水导升高度的递增、突水通道的形成等相关规律。     

济宁二号矿孤岛工作面冲击矿压危险及其控制

孤岛工作面及其周围巷道附近应力集中程度高,顶板运动剧烈,再加上地质构造的影响,采深较大时,冲击危险程度就高,很容易引发冲击矿压。《煤矿安全规程》要求孤岛工作面按冲击矿压危险工作面来管理。孤岛工作面冲击矿压危险检测预报及控制的技术是先分析冲击危险程度,确定冲击危险指数,提出早期预报;采用电磁辐射和钻屑法进行及时预报;采用卸压爆破进行处理,并采用电磁辐射和钻屑法检验防治措施的效果。实践证明,这套技术安全、可靠、有效,能够保证工作面的安全高效生产。     

Validation of Landslide Susceptibility Maps; Examples and Applications from a Case Study in Northern Spain

A procedure for validating landslide susceptibility maps wasapplied in a study area in northern Spain and the results obtained compared. Validationwas used to carry out sensitivity analysis for individual variables and combinationsof variables. The validity of different map-making methods was tested, as well as theutility of different types of Favourability Functions. The results obtained show thatvalidation is essential to determine the predictive value of susceptibility maps. Italso helps to better select the most suitable function and significant variables, thus improving the efficiency of the mapping process. Validation based on a temporal strategy makes it possible to derive hazard maps from susceptibility maps.     

煤层上覆地层含水不均匀性电法探测的可能性

煤田上覆岩层中含水直接对煤层的开采构成威胁，本文先从理论上阐述了电阻率勘探可以探测煤层上覆地层含水不均匀性的可能性，然后用简单的断层型薄层含水模型的CSAMT正演模拟结果展示出：地下900m深处，尽管只有20m厚的的含水岩层，但在电阻率剖面上该薄层的反映具有非常明显的特征，从理论上和数值模拟实例说明，一定深度内一定厚度的薄层含水性的电阻率法探测是可能的。     

Striking liptinitic bark remains peculiar to some Late Permian Chinese coals

An unusual liptinite coal component has been reported in the Chinese literature over the past sixty years. It has been described as a maceral in the Chinese National Standard (1991), but it has not been named internationally. In Chinese literature it is called “barkinite”, on the basis of its morphological features and because it is believed to have originated as bark tissue.“Barkinite” occurs in Late Permian, marine-influenced coals and is best represented in the Changguang, Leping and Shuicheng Basins of southern China.The material originates from plant periderm or the bark of higher plants. However, “bark” contains a variety of substances, including resin and suberin, which are recognised as the precursors of the resinite and suberinite macerals. “Barkinite” is distinguished by (i) its thickness; individual pieces can be more than ten cells thick and several centimetres long and (ii) it fluoresces strongly at 0.6% vitrinite reflectance and loses its fluorescence at about 1.1% vitrinite reflectance.The reporting of “barkinite” from only Chinese coals may be due to its origin from Lepidodendron and Psaronius flora, which was common in the Northern Hemisphere during the Carboniferous, but which was isolated to China by the Late Permian. It is proposed that the remnant flora evolved into unique forms in China by the Late Permian. Lepidodendron and Psaronius remains, coupled with a strongly marine-influenced, peat-forming environment have given rise to “barkinite” and to its restricted distribution.     

Groundwater transformation of a low-sulfur to a high-sulfur coal, the Harlem coal of the northern Appalachian basin

The Harlem coal is postulated to have been deposited in raised-bog settings. It was initially deposited as low-sulfur peat, but groundwater of a later origin altered portions of it to high-sulfur coal. The total sulfur content of 172 samples from 31 locations on a moisture- and ash-free basis have a quadrimodal distribution with two major modes at 0.75% S and 2.0%S. Multiple sampling and analyses at specific mine sites indicate that the addition of sulfur of a later origin occurred either laterally adjacent to sandstone channels or vertically adjacent to faults. Significant sulfur addition also occurred above clay partings at these sites. The original low-sulfur nature is preserved where the coal bed is isolated from descending groundwater by a thick impervious layer. Trace-element analyses show high concentrations of mobile elements such as Na and Mn in the high-sulfur coals.     

The origin and distribution of HAPs elements in relation to maceral composition of the A1 lignite bed (Paleocene, Calvert Bluff Formation, Wilcox Group), Calvert mine area, east-central Texas

The origin and distribution of twelve potentially Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs; As, Be, Cd, Cr, Co, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and U) identified in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments were examined in relation to the maceral composition of the A1 bed (Paleocene, Calvert Bluff Formation, Wilcox Group) of the Calvert mine in east-central Texas. The 3.2 m-thick A1 bed was divided into nine incremental channel samples (7 lignite samples and 2 shaley coal samples) on the basis of megascopic characteristics. Results indicate that As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Sb, and U are strongly correlated with ash yield and are enriched in the shaley coal samples. We infer that these elements are associated with inorganic constituents in the coal bed and may be derived from a penecontemporaneous stream channel located several kilometers southeast of the mining block. Of the HAPs elements studied, Mn and Hg are the most poorly correlated to ash yield. We infer an organic association for Mn; Hg may be associated with pyrite. The rest of the trace elements (Be, Co, and Se) are weakly correlated with ash yield. Further analytical work is necessary to determine the mode of occurrence for these elements. Overall, concentrations of the HAPs elements are generally similar to or less than those reported in previous studies of lignites of the Wilcox Group, east-central region, Texas. Petrographic analysis indicates the following ranges in composition for the seven lignite samples: liptinites (5–8%), huminites (88–95%), and inertinites (trace amounts to 7%). Samples from the middle portion of the A1 bed contain abundant crypto-eugelinite compared to the rest of the samples; this relationship suggests that the degradation of plant material was an important process during the development of the peat mire. With the exception of Hg and Mn, relatively low levels of the HAPs elements studied are found in the samples containing abundant crypto-eugelinite. We infer that the peat-forming environment for this portion of the coal bed was very wet with minimal detrital input. Relatively high concentrations of crypto-humotelinite were found in samples from the top and base of the coal bed. The presence of abundant crypto-humotefinite in this part of the coal bed suggests the accumulation of wood-rich peat under conditions conducive to a high degree of tissue preservation in the peat mire. Although several of the trace elements (Be, Co, Ni, and Sb) exhibit enrichment in these samples, they are not necessarily chemically associated with humotelinite. We infer that these elements, with the exception of Be, are possibly associated with deposition of the roof and floor rock of the coal bed; however, further analytical work would be necessary to confirm this hypothesis. Beryllium may have an organic origin.