Peat deposition on a tidally dominated coastline: Tradewater interval (Morrowan-Atokan, Pennsylvanian), Illinois Basin

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

OSTI ID:5914156

Devera, J; Nelson, J; Kvale, E; Barnhill, M; Eble, C; Staub, J; Dimichele, W ^[1]

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1. Tradewater Working Group, Carterville, IL (United States)

The Tradewater interval of the Illinois Basin includes rocks from the upper Morrowan and Atokan Series of the Pennsylvanian. The interval is dominantly clastic, but includes coals, a number of which have been important low sulfur resources during the past 100 years. Low sulfur coals, the presence of plant macrofossils in roof shale above the coal, the rarity of limestones, and the paucity or absence of marine macroinvertebrate fossils have been considered strong evidence for deposition under fluvial conditions, particularly in the Block coal interval on the eastern flank of the basin. In contravention to this traditional interpretation, recent work in the Tradewater has shown that tide-dominated estuarine and other coastal facies are present, and that most of the clastic units were deposited under brackish water conditions. Basic to this new interpretation is the recognition of marine influence, including small scale tidal bundles and ichnofossil assemblages produced by saline-dependent invertebrates. The economically important coals associated with these tidally influenced paleoenvironments have low to moderate sulfur content, suggesting fresh water peat deposition. Local thickness variations of tidally-dominated intervals suggest faulting concurrent with sedimentation. Field observations demonstrate localized areas of increased interval thickness dominated by tidally influenced facies, indicating possible fault control of sediment distribution.

• OSTI ID: 5914156
• Report Number(s): CONF-921058-; CODEN: GAAPBC
• Journal Information: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 24:7; Conference: 1992 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Cincinnati, OH (United States), 26-29 Oct 1992; ISSN 0016-7592
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
COAL DEPOSITS
DEPOSITION
ILLINOIS BASIN
PEAT
COAL SEAMS
COASTAL WATERS
GEOLOGIC HISTORY
GEOLOGIC MODELS
SULFUR CONTENT
THICKNESS
DIMENSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MATTER
MINERAL RESOURCES
ORGANIC MATTER
RESOURCES
SURFACE WATERS
011000* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration