Peat deposits of Pamlimarle peninsula: Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell, and Washington Counties, North Carolina

Technical Report · Thu Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1982

OSTI ID:7023343

Ingram, R L; Otte, L J

Approximately 582 sq mi of the Pamlimarle peninsula in northeastern North Carolina are underlain by peat that has less than 25% ash. The peat occurs in broad shallow depressions up to 10 ft thick and in narrow former stream channels up to 16 ft thick. The average thickness is about 4 ft. Total peat resources in the 582 sq mi (373,000 acres) are about 278 million tons of moisture-free peat. The deposits greater than 4 ft thick occupy an area of 273 sq mi (175,000 acres) containing 196 million tons of peat. The peat lies to the east of an old shoreline, the Suffolk Scarp, and occurs at elevations from 20 ft to sea level. There is a topographic break at 5 to 10 ft elevation which separates the deposits into a higher Western Area and a lower Eastern Area. Western and Eastern area peat differ in some respects. The higher elevation Western Area peats are slightly more decomposed and less fibrous, have a higher Btu/lb (median of 10,300 vs 9500), have less ash (mean of 6% vs 10%), have more carbon (median of 61% vs 57%), have less moisture (mean of 81% vs 88%), have a higher bulk density, and have less sulfur (median of 0.2% vs 0.4%). Two main types of peat are present: (1) a brown, decomposed somewhat fibrous peat usually found at the base of the thicker peats, and (2) a black, fine-grained, highly decomposed peat that usually overlies the more fibrous peat. Undecomposed logs and stumps are common. 4 figures, 10 tables.

• Research Organization: North Carolina Univ., Chapel Hill (USA). Dept. of Geology; East Carolina Univ., Greenville, NC (USA). Dept. of Geology
• DOE Contract Number: AC01-79ET14693
• OSTI ID: 7023343
• Report Number(s): DOE/ET/14693-T9; ON: DE82019810
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010600 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Properties & Composition
011000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
ASHES
BULK DENSITY
CALORIFIC VALUE
CARBON
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COMBUSTION PROPERTIES
DATA
DENSITY
DIMENSIONS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEDERAL REGION IV
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS
HYDROGEN
INFORMATION
MOISTURE
NITROGEN
NONMETALS
NORTH AMERICA
NORTH CAROLINA
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC MATTER
OXYGEN
PEAT
PH VALUE
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
RESIDUES
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
SULFUR
SURVEYS
THICKNESS
USA