Low ash, planar peat swamp development in an alluvial plain setting: The No. 5 block beds of southern West Virginia

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States)

OSTI ID:5830491

Staub, J R; Richards, B K ^[1]

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1. Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale, IL (United States). Dept. of Geology

Coals from the No. 5 Block beds (Westphalian D) are noted for their low ash and sulfur content. Beds are multiple benched, with rock partings separating individual benches. Benches have limited continuity and, where thick are dominated by bright, high ash coal at the base and dull, low ash coal in their upper portions. The duller coals contain more exinite and inertinite group macerals than the brighter coals. The depositional setting is an alluvial plain environment with channel systems separated by distances of about 20 km. The channel systems were flanked by clastic swamps for distances of up to 7 km or more on either side. Areas of flood plain most distant from the channels were sites where peat accumulated and these zones were about 8 km across. High energy, low frequency flood events introduced fine grained sediment into the peat swamps resulting in thin layers of sediment being deposited on top of the peat. These sediment layers are thicker in areas where the underlying coal is the thickest. These thick coal areas are topographically negative. This relationship between coal and parting thickness and topography indicates that these peat swamps were low-lying or planar. Individual coal benches contain abundant amounts of preserved cellular tissue (telocollinite, semifusinite, fusinite) at most locations indicating that woody arborescent like vegetation was widespread in the swamps suggesting a planar morphology. The high concentrations of exinite and inertinite group macerals found in the upper portions of individual benches resulted from decomposition and oxidation of the peat in subaerial to aquatic planar swamp environments.

• OSTI ID: 5830491
• Report Number(s): CONF-921058--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Journal Volume: 24:7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
011000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
ASH CONTENT
COAL DEPOSITS
COAL SEAMS
DEPOSITION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECOSYSTEMS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
MACERALS
MATTER
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC MATTER
PEAT
RESOURCES
SEDIMENTS
SULFUR CONTENT
SWAMPS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
USA
WEST VIRGINIA
WETLANDS