a middle cambrian trilobite faunule from the meguma group of nova scotia the meguma group of southern nova scotia is a thick succession of mostly deep water siliciclastic sedimentray rocks of uncertain age previous fossil finds have been in the halifax formation of the upper part of the sequence and have provided early ordovician ages a newly discovered trilobite bearing bed from the underlying goldenville formation yields middle cambrian taxa of acado baltic affinity specimens belonging to paradoxides s l agraulos dorypyge and ellipsocephalidae indicate that the meguma group is an exotic succession with faunal similarity to the adjacent avalon terrane and to middle cambrian successions in europe the middle east and west africa

initial tectonothermal evolution within the scandinavian caledonide accretionary prism constraints from40ar 39ar mineral ages within the seve nappe complex sarek mountains sweden in the caledonide orogen of northern sweden the seve nappe complex is dominated by rift facies sedimentary and mafic rocks derived from the late proterozoic baltoscandian miogeocline and offshore continent iapetus transition metamorphic breaks and structural inversions characterize the nappe complex within the sarek mountains the sarektjakka nappe is composed of c 600 ma old dolerites with subordinate screens of sedimentary rocks these lithological elements preserve parageneses which record contact metamorphism at shallow crustal levels the sarektjakka nappe is situated between eclogite bearing nappes mikka and tsakkok nappes which underwent high p metamorphism at c 500 ma during westward subduction of the baltoscandian margin 40ar 39ar mineral ages of c 520 500 ma are recorded by hornblende within variably foliated amphibolite derived from mafic dyke protoliths within the sarektjakka nappe plateau ages of 500 ma are displayed by muscovite within the basal thrust of the nappe and are consistent with metamorphic evidence which indicates that the nappe escaped crustal depression as a result of detachment at an early stage of subduction cooling ages recorded by hornblende from variably retrogressed eclogites in the entire region are in the range of c 510 490 ma and suggest that imbrication of the subducting miogeocline was followed by differential exhumation of the various imbricate sheets hornblende cooling ages of 470 460 ma are recorded from massive dyke protoliths within the sarektjakka nappe these are similar to ages reported from the seve nappe complex in the central scandinavian caledonides probably these date imbrication and uplift related to early ordovician arrival of outboard terranes e g island arc sequences represented by structurally lower horizons of the koli nappes metamorphic contrasts and the distinct grouping of mineral cooling ages suggest that the various seve structural units are themselves internally imbricated and were individually tectonically uplifted through argon closure temperatures during assembly of the seve nappe complex the cooling ages of 520 500 ma recorded within seve terranes and along terrane boundaries of the sarek mountains provide evidence of significant accretionary activity in the northern scandinavian caledonides in the late cambrian early ordovician

partial thermal resetting of 40 ar 39 ar mineral ages in western spitsbergen svalbard possible evidence for tertiary metamorphism hornblende and muscovite within high grade caledonian metamorphic rocks exposed in albert i land northwest spitsbergen display internally concordant 40 ar 39 ar age spectra providing no record of any post silurian thermal history both minerals record 420 425 ma plateau ages indicating that relatively rapid cooling followed silurian metamorphism muscovite within some metamorphic sequences exposed within the tertiary tectonic zone of oscar ii land west central spitsbergen displays a low temperature 40 ar 39 ar age spectra discordance suggestive of a slight post caledonian thermal disturbance this is consistent with a post palaeozoic thermal overprint documented elsewhere in oscar ii land and indicates that at least locally metamorphism may have accompanied the tertiary orogeny

detrital and metamorphic 40 ar 39 ar ages from muscovite and whole rock samples meguma supergroup southern nova scotia 40ar 39ar dates from eight muscovite separates and two whole rock samples of slate siltstone and sandstone provide detrital metamorphic and post metamorphic overprinting ages for the low grade metamorphic rocks of the meguma supergroup in the mahone bay region of southern nova scotia variably reset detrital muscovite ages of 600 550 ma agree with previously obtained u pb dates from detrital zircon separates of foliation parallel muscovite yield precise 40ar 39ar ages of 395 388 ma petrographic and metamorphic data indicate that these are metamorphic mica growth ages the range overlaps with the younger limit of previously reported whole rock ages 410 380 ma but is more tightly constrained an apparent inconsistency between previous 40ar 39ar whole rock ages as old as 410 ma and regional deformation that affected sedimentary rocks as young as 385 ma has been resolved by the younger ages reported here and by recent adjustments to the early paleozoic time scale which suggest that the lochkovian to

variscan accretionary complex of northwest iberia terrane correlation and succession of tectonothermal events the allochthonous terranes of northwest iberia can be correlated with specific paleogeographic realms of the continental masses and intervening oceans involved in the variscan collision assuming that the existing ophiolites represent the suture formed by the closure of the rheic ocean the units in the footwall to the suture correspond to the outer edge of the gondwana continental margin and the units in the hanging wall are interpreted as fragments of the conjugate margin represented by the meguma terrane this correlation establishes a precise link between circum atlantic terranes and makes it possible to draw a relatively simple scenario of the successive tectonothermal events recorded following the amalgamation of avalon to laurentia the remaining outboard terranes underwent a progressive accretion to this continent that ended with the collision between laurentia and gondwana

variable variscan thermal rejuvenation in the st malo region cadomian orogen france evidence from 40ar 39ar mineral ages abstract the st malo region in north west france contains migmatites and anatectic granites derived by partial melting of metasedimentary protoliths during cadomian orogenesis at c 540 ma previously reported rb sr model ages for muscovite and biotite range from c 550 to c 300 ma and suggest variable resetting of mineral isotopic systems these rocks display microscopic evidence for variably intense cadomian intracrystalline plastic strain but record no obvious evidence of penetrative palaeozoic regional deformation 40ar 39ar mineral ages have been determined to evaluate better the extent timing and significance of palaeozoic overprinting eleven muscovite concentrates and one whole rock phyllite have been prepared from various units exposed in the st malo and adjacent mancellian regions in the mancellian region muscovite from two facies of the bonnemain granite complex record 40ar 39ar plateau ages of c 527 and 521 ma an internally discordant 40ar 39ar release spectrum characterizes muscovite from protomylonitic granite within the cadomian alexain deux evailles ize granite complex and probably records the effects of variscan displacement along the north armorican shear zone muscovite concentrates from anatectic granite and from cadomian mylonites along ductile shear zones within the north western sector of the st malo region exhibit internally discordant 40ar 39ar release spectra which suggest variable and partial late palaeozoic rejuvenation by contrast muscovite concentrates from samples of variably mylonitic brioverian metasedimentary rocks exposed within the south eastern sector of the st malo region display internally concordant apparent age spectra which define plateaux of 326 320 ma a whole rock phyllite sample from brioverian metasedimentary rocks exposed along the eastern boundary of the st malo region displays an internally discordant argon release pattern which is interpreted to reflect the effects of a partial late palaeozoic thermal overprint muscovite from the plelan granite part of the variscan plelan bobital granite complex yields a 40ar 39ar plateau age of c 307 ma the 40ar 39ar results indicate that cadomian rocks of the st malo region have undergone a widespread and variable palaeozoic carboniferous rejuvenation of intracrystalline argon systems which apparently did not affect the mancellian region this rejuvenation was not accompanied by penetrative regional deformation and was probably of a static thermal hydrothermal origin the heat source for rejuvenation was probably either the result of heating during variscan extension or advection from variscan granites which are argued to underlie the st malo region

40ar 39ar mineral ages from the oki metamorphic complex oki dogo southwest japan implications for regional correlations abstract the oki metamorphic complex exposed in the oki dogo islands consists predominantly of psammitic and pelitic gneisses with subordinate amphibolite and rare calcareous gneiss the oki gneisses were regionally metamorphosed to general amphibolite facies conditions with local development of granulite facies assemblages peak metamorphic conditions of c 800 c have been suggested hornblende concentrates from amphibolites collected within the oki metamorphic complex record 40 ar 39 ar isotope correlation ages of 199 192 ma these are interpreted to date the post metamorphic cooling through temperatures required for intracrystalline retention of argon c 500 c muscovite concentrates record 40 ar 39 ar plateau ages of 167 168 ma these are interpreted to date post metamorphic cooling through appropriate closure temperature of muscovite c 400 375 c combined with the previously reported geochronological data the oki metamorphic complex appears to have experienced peak metamorphic conditions at c 250 ma subsequently it cooled and was exhumed at the earth s surface at c 90 ma with cooling rate of c 5 c ma the oki metamorphic complex records a similar prograde metamorphic event as the hida metamorphic complex exposed in central japan the cooling and exhumation rates of the hida metamorphic complex were significantly more rapid compared with the oki metamorphic complex and they were exhumed with extensively intruded jurassic granites funatsu granites

dating transcurrent terrane accretion an example from the meguma and avalon composite terranes in the northern appalachians the polygenetic minas geofracture separates the meguma and avalon composite terranes of the maritime appalachians dynamically recrystallized muscovite and biotite occur within d3 shear zones which developed during dextral movement along the geofracture these record 40ar 39ar plateau ages between circa 360 and 370 ma comparable plateau ages are recorded by micas within undeformed portions of granitic plutons and their low pressure contact metamorphic aureoles these are similar to u pb ages previously reported for igneous monazite therefore indicating relatively rapid postmagmatic cooling at shallow crustal levels the d3 fabrics were superimposed on earlier s1 structures which formed during initial amalgamation of the meguma and avalon composite terranes whole rock slate phyllite samples collected outside high temperature portions of the plutonic contact aureoles yield 40ar 39ar plateau ages which correspond to groupings of circa 400 395 ma 390 385 ma and 380 375 ma these are interpreted to date diachronous formation of the s1 fabrics and concomitant low grade regional metamorphism in the circa 25 ma between initial amalgamation and granitic plutonism it is inferred that there was a slow rise of isotherms through the crust as a result of overthrust tectonic thickening this led to crustal melting and the production of widespread granitic magmas which were emplaced immediately prior to d3 dextral shearing

cadomian 40ar 39ar apparent age spectra of detrital muscovites from the eastern alps concentrates of detrital muscovite were prepared from the bischofalm quartzite late ordovician exposed in the southalpine carnic alps austria two size fractions 150 175 pm and 85 100 m from two samples display similarly discordant 40 ar 39 ar age spectra in which apparent ages systematically increase from c 300 ma to c 600 ma in low temperature portions of each analysis intermediate and high temperature increments are characterized by apparent ages of c 620 645 ma characteristics of the age spectra suggest minor late palaeozoic variscan or combined variscan alpine rejuvenations of argon isotopic systems within detrital grains which originally crystallized within a late precambrian source terrain the detrital muscovite ages provide evidence for a cadomian age source region for some basement sequences within the austroalpine southalpine sectors of the eastern alps the occurrence of cadomian age detritus in the eastern alps suggests links with armorica and other similarly aged tectonic elements within alpine chains initiating along northern margins of gondwana

40 ar 39 ar ages of detrital white mica from upper austroalpine units in the eastern alps austria evidence for cadomian and contrasting variscan sources five detrital white mica concentrates from very low grade metaclastic sequences within pre variscan basement and post variscan cover units of the upper austroalpine nappe complex eastern alps have been dated with 40ar 39ar incremental heating techniques to constrain the age of tectonothermal events in their respective source areas two samples from early palaeozoic sandstone exposed within the same alpine nappe record slightly discordant age spectra the maximum age recorded in one is 562 2 0 7 ma whereas the other yielded a 40ar 39ar plateau age of 607 3 0 3 ma these results indicate a source area affected by cadomian tectonothermal activity three detrital muscovite concentrates from post variscan late carboniferous and permian cover sequences exposed within three different alpine nappes yielded 40ar 39ar plateau ages of 359 6 1 1 ma 310 5 1 2 ma and 303 3 0 2 ma the contrasting detrital white mica ages are interpreted to reflect different source areas detrital muscovite from a post variscan carboniferous molasse type sequence and from a permian verrucano type sequence record ages which indicate late variscan e g 330 300 ma metamorphic sources by contrast detrital white mica from another permian verrucano type sequence suggests a source area affected by early variscan e g 400 360 ma metamorphism these results help clarify palinspastic relationships and tectonic correlations between pre late carboniferous metamorphic basement sequences and carboniferous to permian cover sequences

late paleozoic to cenozoic history of the offshore sydney basin atlantic canada the sydney basin covers a large offshore area south of newfoundland with a well exposed outcrop belt on cape breton island the geological history of the poorly known offshore area is interpreted using an industry seismic grid and lithoprobe line 86 5 tied to outcrops and two wells the mid devonian to upper carboniferous permian basin fill is 6 7 km thick and represents three extensional phases with intervening and succeeding compressive phases the mid devonian mcadams lake formation was deposited in a local half graben during early post acadian extension following deformation a suite of early carboniferous extensional basins filled mainly with horton group conglomerates developed on northeast trending and southeast dipping master faults some faults developed along acadian terrane boundaries the windsor group extends over the master faults to onlap basement as a result of thermal sag and visean eustatic rise mid carboniferous deformation linked to the alleghanian orogeny reactivated faults an

polyphase late paleozoic tectonothermal evolution of the southwestern meguma terrane nova scotia evidence from 40ar 39ar mineral ages 40ar 39ar incremental release ages of hornblende muscovite and biotite from a variety of granitic stocks and host metamorphic rocks suggest a complex late paleozoic tectonothermal evolution for the southwestern meguma terrane regional d1 folding with cleavage formation under greenschist lower amphibolite facies m1 metamorphic conditions occurred at ca 400 410 ma and was followed by emplacement of a series of granitic stocks ranging in age between ca 375 and 315 ma these were emplaced at relatively shallow crustal levels and developed contact metamorphic aureoles of variable grade these are locally superposed on m1 regional metamorphic assemblages and result in a complex isograd pattern 40ar 39ar mineral ages suggest episodes of contact metamorphism occurred at 1 360 375 ma possibly related to emplacement of the south mountain batholith or temporal equivalents 2 350 356 ma around the port mouton pluton and northeastern shelburne pluton 3 ca 315 325 ma near the wedgeport pluton and in

palaeomagnetism and 36ar40ar vs 39ar40ar isotope correlation ages of dyke swarms in central kerala india tectonic implications palaeomagnetic results and whole rock 36ar40ar vs 39ar40ar isotope correlation ages are presented for dyke swarms occurring within the granulite terrain in central kerala west coast of india palaeomagnetic data show that the nnw sse leucogabbro dykes sampled are normally magnetised d 307 and i 57 whereas most nw se dolerite dykes are reversely magnetised d 163 and i 61 one dolerite dyke shows normal polarity the present 40ar39ar isotope ages for dolerite dykes and previously reported k ar ages for leucogabbros suggest 81 2 ma for acquisition of the leucogabbro directions and 69 1 ma for acquisition of the reverse magnetic directions within the dolerites based on palaeomagnetic and isotopic age data the dolerite dykes appears to represent feeder systems for the deccan volcanic sequences we suggest that the deccan eruptions were widespread and probably extended southward at least into central kerala the entire magmatic episode may have occurred between ca 70 and 65 ma during the 31r period probably corresponding to the cretaceous tertiary boundary the leucogabbros may correspond to the 34n superchron and represent a plume related magmatic episode precursory to the main volcanic event these data suggest that an early intraplate plume tectonic setting since ca 80 ma preceded lithospheric thinning asthenospheric upwelling and consequent massive flood volcanism during the period 70 65 ma this culminated in ocean floor spreading between the seychelles mascarene and continental india

p t t history of the lower austroalpine nappe complex in the tarntaler berge nw of the tauern window implications for the geotectonic evolution of the central eastern alps new petrologic and 40ar 39ar geochronologic data constrain conditions of alpine metamorphism along the northwestern border of the tauern window the p t estimations based on phengite barometry were determined for samples from units of the lower austroalpine nappe complex exposed above the southpenninic interior of the tauern window and from upper parts of the southpenninic bundner schiefer sequence results suggest that both mesozoic metasedimentary nappe units reckner and hippold nappes and an ophiolitic nappe reckner complex of the lower austroalpine nappe complex have been metamorphosed at pressures between 8 and 10 5 kbar and temperatures around 350 c the structurally highest lower austroalpine unit quartzphyllite nappe was not affected by high pressure metamorphism and records maximum p t conditions of approximately 4 kbar and 400 c highest parts of the structurally underlying southpenninic bundner schiefer sequence were metamorphosed at intermediate pressures 6 7 kbar temperatures increased in all structural units during decompression whole rock 40ar 39ar plateau ages of silicic phyllites and cherts with abundant high si phengites record ages around 50 ma in the reckner nappe and 44 37 ma in the hippold nappe and southpenninic bundner schiefer sequence these ages are interpreted to date closely the high pressure metamorphism

polyorogenic 40ar 39ar mineral age record within the kalak nappe complex northern scandinavian caledonides the kalak nappe complex is composed of variably retrogressed middle proterozoic basement and imbricated polydeformed metasedimentary cover successions which at least in part appear to have originated within the late proterozoic early palaeozoic baltoscandian miogeocline mafic alkaline plutons seiland igneous suite occur within uppermost structural units of the nappe complex 40 ar 39 ar incremental release mineral ages suggest local differences in tectonothermal evolution within the kalak nappe complex post metamorphic cooling dates of c 490 ma are locally recorded by hornblende within the structurally highest tectonic unit suggesting significant orogenic activity occurred during and or immediately prior to the arenig a distinctly later metamorphic overprint occurred in the silurian and was of sufficient magnitude to everywhere rejuvenate ar systems in muscovite and nepheline and locally in hornblende this was followed by relatively rapid post metamorphic cooling through hornblende and muscovite ar closure temperatures between c 425 and 415 ma the complex tectonic history suggested for the kalak nappe complex is generally similar to that previously outlined for the central swedish caledonides together 40 ar 39 ar mineral ages from these widely separated areas indicate that significant tectonothermal activity occurred along the baltoscandian margin prior to the silurian this activity appears at least in part to have been associated with formation of a late cambrian early ordovician accretionary wedge over a westward dipping subduction zone during initial closure of the iapetus ocean

the port mouton shear zone intersection of a regional fault with a crystallizing granitoid pluton abstract the peraluminous tonalite monzogranite port mouton pluton is a petrological geochemical structural and geochronological anomaly among the many late devonian granitoid intrusions of the meguma lithotectonic zone of southern nova scotia the most remarkable structural feature of this pluton is a 4 km wide zone of strongly foliated 040 subvertical monzogranites culminating in a narrow 10 30 m straight zone of compositionally banded rocks that extends for at least 3 km along strike the banded monzogranites consist of alternating melanocratic and leucocratic compositions that are complementary to the overall composition of that part of the pluton suggesting an origin by mineral melt and mineral mineral sorting biotite and feldspar are strongly foliated in the plane of the compositional bands these compositional variations and foliations originated by a process of segregation flow during shearing of the main magma with a crystallinity of 55 75 subsequent minor brittle fracturing of feldspars twinning of microcline development of blocky sub grains in quartz and kinking of micas demonstrate overprinting by a high temperature deformation straddling the monzogranite solidus small folds and late sigmoidal dykes indicate dextral movement on the shear zone this port mouton shear zone pmsz is approximately co linear with the only outcrops of late devonian mafic intrusions in the area two of which are syn plutonic with well developed mingling textures in the marginal tonalite of the port mouton pluton also closely co linear with the mafic intrusions are a granitoid dyke that extends well beyond the outer contact of the port mouton pluton a swarm of large aligned angular xenolithic slabs a zone of thin wispy schlieren banding a large be bearing pegmatite and a breccia pipe with abundant garnetiferous metapelitic xenoliths in various ways the shear zone may control all of these features the port mouton shear zone is parallel to many other ne trending faults and shear zones in the northern appalachians probably related to the docking of the meguma zone along the cobequid chedabucto fault system

a comparison of operational analysis and vhf wind profiler vertical velocities abstract we present a comparison of vertical velocity data obtained with the sousy vhf radar operating near bad lauterberg in west germany and the vertical velocities produced by the operational analysis of the european centre for medium range weather forecasting three cases are presented including a 3 day period in march 1981 an 11 day period in november 1981 and a 5 day period in april 1984 the synoptic conditions were characterized by wintertime flows and a number of warm and cold frontal passages occurred we find that the magnitude of the vertical velocity variations are comparable in the observations and in the analysis data in the troposphere but the radar shows much larger fluctuations in the stratosphere although the same trends in ascent and subsidence are present in both datasets there is on the whole no one to one correspondence between individual features in the radar and the analysis vertical velocities over time scales of a day or two

the scotian basin offshore nova scotia thermal history and provenance of sandstones from apatite fission track and 40ar 39ar data apatite fission track and 40ar 39ar age spectrum data from sandstone drill core minerals taken from depths of 2 5 km in nine wells from the scotian basin are presented and interpreted in terms of the thermal history of the basin and the provenance of its sediments the focus of the study is a comparison of the data from these thermochronometers with each other and with previously published vitrinite reflectance and aromatization isomerization a i reactions in biomarker compounds from the same or nearby wells apatite fission track ages are generally in agreement with expectations in that they trend to zero at a depth of 4 km corrected bottom hole temperature 120 c shallower lower present temperature samples are partially annealed the degree of partial annealing correlates closely with the degree of a i reactions both thermal indicators are activated over the temperature range 60 120 c samples from two wells mic mac j 77 and erie d 26 are anomalous they are more annealed than present formati

cape st marys shear zone and the halifax group rockville notch group disconformity southwestern nova scotia structural development and tectonic significance the cape st marys shear zone situated in a corridor of alleghanian reworking in the southwestern meguma terrane contains the deformed discordant contact of lower ordovician slate of the halifax group with the silurian white rock formation close to the contact the alleghanian cleavage s2 is parallel to the contact in both units with s0 in the white rock formation metavolcanic rocks and halifax slate parallel to and discordant to the contact the geometry of deformed neoacadian minor folds quartz fringes on sulphide grains and micro porphyroclasts demonstrate thrust sense shear white rock formation over halifax slate pure shear and volume loss are inferred as components of the strain path from s2 microstructure and estimates of strain in the halifax slate estimates of shear strain imply moderate displacements within the cape st marys shear zone during deformation of the northwestern limb of the cape st marys syncline the discordant contact of the halifax slate with the white rock formation

offshore continuation of meguma terrane southwestern nova scotia eight short drill cores have been examined from the continental shelf southwest of nova scotia four cores recovered granitoid rocks of two types ilmenite bearing granitoid rocks petrographically and geochemically resemble granodiorites of the south mountain batholith and granites of the seal island pluton magnetite bearing granitoid rocks are also peraluminous but have no exact analogues onshore in nova scotia two cores recovered metamorphic rocks in a small area 50 km south of seal island one consits of chlorite muscovite quartz schist geochemically similar to rocks of the halifax formation the second sampled epidote chlorite quartz schist similar to metavolcanic rocks of the white rock formation one further core sampled quartzite and another sampled a metavolcanic rock possibly erratic the regional extent of these lithotypes can be inferred from gravity and aeromagnetic data regional gravity data suggest the presence of a large granite body off southwestern nova scotia in this area magneti

polyphase variscan emplacement of exotic terranes morais and braganca massifs onto iberian successions evidence from 40ar 39ar mineral ages abstract the braganca and morais nappe complexes comprise internally imbricated continental tectonic units including schists deformed metagranite granulite and local eclogite and a structurally underlying ophiolite nappe high pressure assemblages in some of the continental sequences were variably retrogressed during an amphibolite facies metamorphic overprint by contrast rocks within the ophiolite nappe display prograde amphibolite facies assemblages hornblende concentrates from both tectonic units exposed in the braganca nappe complex record 40 ar 39 ar plateau and isotope correlation ages of c 385 390 ma a similar date is recorded by hornblende within mylonitic amphibolite ophiolite protolith along a ductile thrust which separates the two major nappe units muscovite within blastomylonitic metagranite lagoa augen gneiss in upper structural levels of the morais massif records 370 375 ma 40 ar 39 ar plateau ages muscovite within phyllinite developed along a ductile thrust separating the gneiss from the structurally underlying ophiolite nappe records a 375 ma age together the 40 ar 39 ar data suggest that a regionally significant early variscan amphibolite facies metamorphism occurred prior to c 385 390 ma early devonian this was associated with ductile imbrication of continental and ophiolite structural units with resultant formation of a composite nappe complex the composite nappe complex must have been maintained at relatively high structural levels throughout the remaining variscan evolution because there is no evidence for post 370 ma rejuvenation of intracrystalline argon systems in any of crystalline structural units examined this is in marked contrast to a significant late devonian c 330 ma locally high pressure metamorphism which is recorded in structurally underlying elements of the lower allochthon part of a foreland thrust complex composed of metasedimentary units with iberian protolith affinities together available chronologic constraints indicate emplacement of the previously assembled composite nappe complex into its present relative structural position at c 330 ma with resultant deformation and metamorphism of structurally underlying components of the iberian thrust complex

fluorescence spectral analysis of resinite macerals from coals of the hanna formation wyoming u s a abstract flourescence spectral analysis indicates that resinite macerals from tertiary hanna formation coals hanna coal field southcentral wyoming u s a can be separated into five distinct groups the first resinite group fluoresces a a medium green in blue light its average spectral maximum occurs at or below 440 mm with a red green quotient of 0 22 the second resinite group fluoresces yellow green with an average spectral maximum of 500 nm and a red green quotient of 0 53 the third resinite group displays a yellow fluorescence having an average spectral maximum of 580 nm and a red green quotient of 0 86 the fourth resinite group fluorescence orange brown having an average spectral maximum of 610 nm and a red green quotient of 1 20 these four groups mostly occur as primary globular resinites exhibiting scratches and fractures indicating that they are brittle solid substances primary cell filling and secondary fracture filling resinites also occur in these four groups the fifth group only occurs as a secondary void filling material and lacks evidence of br of brittle properties it fluoresces a reddish brown has a spectral maximum at 690 nm and a red green quotient of 1 54 the fifth group has properties resembling exsudatinite the five resinite groups can be separated on the basis of their nine spectral properties alone without qualitative petrographic interpretation the relative quantities of the five resinite groups vary among hanna formation coals the origins of these five resinite groups are probably related to their botanical properties and pre and post depossitional conditions overall hanna formation resinites have petrographic characteristics similar to other north american resinites however only four resinite groups have been distinguished in in certain coals from utah and new mexico u s a and western canada