Peat deposits of Light Ground Pocosin, Pamlico County, North Carolina

Technical Report · Sun Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

OSTI ID:6801001

Ingram, R L; Otte, L J

The Light Ground Pocosin peat deposits is located in south central Pamlico County, 13 miles east of New Bern. Except for a narrow channel 8 to 12 feet deep, and two small areas of thin peat over highs on the sub-peat surface, the peat lies in a broad shallow depression and increases in thickness to about 7 feet in the center. The deposit occupies an area of 5930 acres and has a total of 5.171 million tons of moisture-free peat. The peat, greater than 4 feet thick, occupies an area of 2790 acres and has 3.478 million tons of dry peat. The peat lies just to the east of the Arapahoe sand ridge - Suffolk Scarp. The normal surface elevation in the area around the peat (the Pamlico terrace or surface) is 15 to 20 feet; however, the surface of the peat is a broad dome reaching an elevation of over 20 feet. Two main types of peat are present: (1) a brown, decomposed fibrous peat usually restricted to the infilled channel; and (2) a black, fine-grained, highly decomposed humic peat. Stumps and logs of white cedar and cypress are common throughout the black peat. The moisture content increases with depth from an average of 74% in the top foot to 90% at 9 feet. The bulk density increases from about 180 tons of dry peat per acre-foot in the top foot to 270 tons at 3 feet and then decreases to 125 tons at a depth of 9 feet. Within the main body of the peat the ash content is almost always below 10% and is usually below 5%; and the heating value ranges from 9800 to 10,900 Btu/lb with a median of 10,500. The nitrogen content ranges from 0.9 to 2.0% with a median of 1.4%. The sulfur content ranges from 0.2 to 0.3% with a median of 0.2%.

• Research Organization: North Carolina Univ., Chapel Hill (USA). Dept. of Geology
• DOE Contract Number: AC01-79ET14693
• OSTI ID: 6801001
• Report Number(s): NCEI-0019
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
011000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
CALORIFIC VALUE
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
COMBUSTION PROPERTIES
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
MOISTURE
NORTH AMERICA
NORTH CAROLINA
ORGANIC MATTER
ORIGIN
PEAT
SOUTHEAST REGION
TOPOGRAPHY
USA