The peats of Costa Rica

Technical Report · Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6043198

Obando A, L; Malavassi R, L; Ramirez E, O ^[1]; Cohen, A ^[2]; Raymond, R Jr; Thayer, G R ^[3]

---

1. RECOPE, San Jose (Costa Rica)
2. South Carolina Univ., Columbia, SC (USA). Dept. of Geological Sciences
3. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)

The objectives of this investigation were: (1) to locate potential peat deposits in Costa Rica; (2) to estimate as closely as possible by representative sampling the amount of peat present in each deposit, and (3) to make a preliminary evaluation of the quality of the peat in each deposit. With information from soil maps and a 3-week survey of Costa Rica, it is estimated that a potential area of about 1000 km{sup 2} is covered by peat. Most of the peat area (about 830 km{sup 2}) is in northeastern Costa Rica in the Tortuguero area. An aerial survey identified the potential peat areas by the exclusive presence of the Yolillo palm. The next largest potential area of peat (about 175 km{sup 2}) is in the cloud-covered areas of the Talamanca Mountains. Some reconnaissance has been done in the Talamanca Mountains, and samples of the peat indicate that it is very similar to the sphagnum peat moss found in Canada and the northern US. Smaller bogs have been discovered at Medio Queso, El Cairo, Moin, and the Limon airport. Two bogs of immediate interest are Medio Queso and El Cairo. The Medio Queso bog has been extensively sampled and contains about 182,000 metric tons (dry) of highly decomposed peat, which is being used as a carrier for nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The El Cairo bog is sparsely sampled and contains about 1,300,000 metric tons of slightly decomposed dry peat. Plans are to use this peat in horticultural applications on nearby farms. 10 refs., 11 figs., 7 tabs.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: AID; Agency for International Development, Washington, DC (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 6043198
• Report Number(s): LA-11889-MS-Vol.2; ON: DE91009768
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
COAL DEPOSITS
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
COSTA RICA
PEAT
AERIAL SURVEYING
ASH CONTENT
BULK DENSITY
CALORIFIC VALUE
CARBON
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
COAL RESERVES
DATA
HORTICULTURE
MAPS
MINERALOGY
MOISTURE
PETROGRAPHY
PH VALUE
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
SAMPLING
SULFUR CONTENT
SURVEYS
USES
VOLATILE MATTER
AGRICULTURE
CENTRAL AMERICA
COMBUSTION PROPERTIES
DENSITY
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INDUSTRY
INFORMATION
LATIN AMERICA
MATTER
MINERAL RESOURCES
NONMETALS
ORGANIC MATTER
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RESERVES
RESOURCES
011000* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration