applications of geophysical techniques to improve a groundwater conceptual model in an outcrop area of the guarani aquifer system in brazil the comprehension of groundwater flow depends on the knowledge of hydrogeological features and water cycle especially the recharge process geophysical techniques can provide useful hydrogeological information e g water table and base aquifer toward improving the water balance in groundwater models this study conducted in an outcrop area of the guarani aquifer system gas in sao paulo state brazil applied ground penetrating radar gpr and geoelectrical techniques for structuring a conceptual groundwater model a gpr with 200 mhz antenna 4 vertical electrical soundings ves with schlumberger array and 12 electrical resistivity tomographies ert with dipole dipole array were used geophysical techniques soil samples and water level from monitoring wells helped the definition of two different hydraulic conductivity regions and a flux boundary condition for the groundwater flow model

lithologic succession in the path fork coal bed breathitt formation middle pennsylvanian southeastern kentucky abstract the path fork coal bed breathitt formation middle pennsylvanian westphalian b on the pine mountain thrust sheet in southeastern kentucky and adjacent portions of virginia exhibits a lithologic succession which is traceable for about 25 km lateral continuity of lithotypes within the bed can be demonstrated using organic petrography palynology and ash geochemistry the lithologic continuity is a consequence of the initial levelling of the pre peat topography and the interaction of the peat with growing anticlines and synclines

effects of overbank deposition on the quality and maceral composition of the herrin no 6 coal pennsylvanian of southern illinois abstract a detailed study of the effects of overbank deposition on the quality and maceral composition of the herrin no 6 coal member carbondale fm middle pennsylvanian in southern illinois was done using proximate total sulfur and maceral analyses channel samples were taken of the herrin no 6 coal and descriptions of the rocks overlying the coal were made at nine locations the herrin no 6 coal in the study area is known to 3ave a high ash content toward the walshville channel a channel sandstone possibly representing a distributary channel that existed during herrin peat deposition sulfur content is knwon to in crease markedly where marine or marginal marine rocks directly overlie the coal and decrease where overlain by thick non marine shale three types of overbank deposits are found in the study area accounting for the changes in coal quality and composition overbank flooding as sheet flow off the levee of the walshville channel introduced suspended material into the peat swamp the suspended material either produced numerous shale laminae or intermixed with the peat producing an increased ash content of the resultant coal close to the walshville channel contemporaneous with the introduction of clastic material by overbank flooding partial oxidation of the peat occurred oxygenated flood water was able to oxidize the peat increasing the pseudovitrinite content of the resultant coal fire splay deposits forming the partings occurred when the swamp was flooded after a dry period or a swamp fire the build up of crevasse splay deposits forming the energy shale helped decrease sulfur content of the herrin no 6 coal in portions of the study area the non marine shaly distal crevasse splay facies formed an impermeable barrier to downward movement of sulfate ion bearing marine water during deposition of the marine units above the energy shale high sulfur coal is associated with the sandy crevasse distributary channel fill facies and bay fill facies of the energy shale or where the energy shale is not present the crevasse distributary channel fill facies allowed marine water to permeate through it reaching the peat and resulting in high sulfur coal high sulfur coal found where the bay fill facies or other marine units directly overlie the coal is a result of marine water being able to permeate the peat directly

effect of climate change on sea water intrusion in coastal aquifers there is increasing debate these days on climate change and its possible consequences much of this debate has focused in the context of surface water systems in many arid areas of the world rainfall is scarce and so is surface runoff these areas rely heavily on groundwater the consequences of climate change on groundwater are long term and can be far reaching one of the more apparent consequences is the increased migration of salt water inland in coastal aquifers using two coastal aquifers one in egypt and the other in india this study investigates the effect of likely climate change on sea water intrusion three realistic scenarios mimicking climate change are considered under these scenarios the nile delta aquifer is found to be more vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise copyright 1999 john wiley sons ltd

a multi parameter study of groundwater seawater interactions along partido de la costa buenos aires province argentina submarine groundwater discharge sgd is a complex hydrological process which occurs at the continent ocean interface and plays an important role in coastal dynamics the main objective of this study was to detect groundwater discharge from the sandy freshwater aquifer towards the atlantic ocean along the western coast of buenos aires province argentina using multiple methods 222rn as a tracer electrical resistivity tomography ert and hydrogeological information were applied to detect and quantify sgd 222rn activity was measured in wells at the beach tidal pools and surf zone and along a transect 200 m from the coastline coincident with geoelectrical measurements groundwater depth was measured in wells and from these data groundwater contour maps were made 222rn activity in wells varies from 16 and 173 dpm l at the beach the values are between 28 and 48 dpm l and along the coastline they oscillate between 1 3 and 20 5 dpm l the ert shows a high resistivity layer close to 3 4 m depth from the sea floor indicating the presence of freshwater groundwater contour maps show discharge toward the continental plain to the west and toward the sea to the east there is no precedent related to the application of these methodologies in the study area which results of interest for the knowledge of the coastal hydrodynamics

extractable fe and al in late pleistocene and holocene paleosols on niwot ridge colorado front range summary surface and buried paleosols on niwot ridge in the front range of colorado were analyzed for extractable fe and al to determine if their distributions would assist in the interpretation of past and present soil forming environments extractable fe and al distributions in surface and buried paleosols suggest that leaching is more pronounced in the older paleosols with a considerable difference in soil forming environment between pleistocene interstadial later pleistocene and postglacial paleosols using radiocarbon dated buried a horizons it appears that little pyrophosphate extractable fe and al have been translocated downward into these middle latitude alpine buried paleosols there is no evidence that the na pyrophosphate extractable fe and al were affected by degradation of organic matter following burial however the data suggest that some amorphous fe and al might have been affected by soil water movement over permafrost and by redistribution of preweathered sediments

disrupted coal and carbonate facies within two pennsylvanian cyclothems southern illinois basin united states two cyclothems contain an unusual suite of disrupted fabrics this study9s interdisciplinary integration of coal maceral and sedimentological information offers significant new interpretations of coal limestone interchange both depositionally and diagenetically disrupted fabrics within the herrin coal and providence limestone are interpreted as representing previously undocumented interactive processes between coals and limestones the herrin coal contains brecciated beds that are the result of marine transgression over a coastal plain mire representing high energy conditions at the swamp beach interface this interface has rarely been documented in detail peat is inherently unstable prior to its conversion to coal and we document this by interpreting conglomeratic beds in overlying strata differential compaction of herrin peats generated subaqueous debris flows in the overlying providence limestone this mechanism for syndiagenetic and early diagenetic sediment deformation has not been previously recognized in addition near surface and surface processes produced other disrupted fabrics in the providence limestone such as in situ mosaic breccias nodular fabrics and calcrete horizons this study also documents that stratigraphically adjacent alkaline carbonate sediments were further altered by undersaturated acidic pore waters derived from compacting peats during early diagenesis our interdisciplinary approach to distinguishing and interpreting all of these disrupted fabrics led to a new appraisal of the importance of depositional and postdepositional interactions between coal and limestone the presence of mire deposits can have a significant influence on the thickness distribution and fabrics in overlying strata in cyclothems climatic and eustatic changes may control overall depositional patterns but peat compaction may determine certain facies

paleoecology of middle pennsylvanian age peat swamp plants in herrin coal kentucky u s a abstract to develop a method for quantifying the vegetation of pennsylvania age coal beds of four coal ball permineralized peat profiles and four coal column samples from the herrin coal bed kentucky no 11 carbondale formation in western kentucky were compared an estimated 89 5 of the coal can be identified botanically compaction ratios for individual tissues were estimated using point counts of organic matter in coal balls the estimated abundances of major plant groups lycopods ferns sphenopsids and pteridosperms in coal balls differ by less than 10 compared to coal after accounting for differential compaction of plant tissues standard deviations in taxonomic and maceral composition among coal columns are generally less than 2 consistent differences in botanical composition were found between benches showing that the method is consistent when applied to sufficient thicknesses of coal it was not possible to make fine scale correlations within the coal bed using the vegetational data either the flora varied considerably from place to place or the method of quantification is unreliable for small increments of coal 5 cm or less in the coal pteridosperm abundance is positively correlated with underlying shale partings this correlation suggests that pteridosperms are favored either by higher nutrient levels or disturbance in the third of four benches in the herrin coal bed a succession from sigillaria containing zones to zones dominated by lepidophloios hallii is interpreted as a shift towards wetter conditions in the other benches the main factors controlling the taxonomic composition appear to have been the relative abundance of nutrients and or the frequency of disturbance as indicated by the relative abundance of partings criteria for distinguishing between domed and planar swamps are discussed these include distribution of partings type of plant succession and changes in plant diversity average plant size preservational quality and sporinite content the infrequency of partings in bench c suggests a peat dome developed while the peat of that bench was accumulating but other evidence either fails to support the development of a peat dome or is ambiguous the maceral composition resembles those of other carboniferous coals which are thought to have formed from planar peat swamps formation of fusain bands appears to be associated with processes occurring above the peat surface such as burning or prolonged oxidative exposure oxidation of accumulated peat is unlikely because fusain bands rarely include more than a single plant

facies in the lower kittanning coal bed appalachian basin u s a abstract facies changes in the form of maceral and palynomorphic composition and textures are observed in thin sections and polished sections both vertically and horizontally in the lower kittanning coal bed allegheny formation middle pennsylvanian westphalian d over a large area in western pennsylvania u s a the lower half of the coal bed is characterized by abundant well defined telocollinate and thin walled lycopod spores which are interbedded with thin layers of mixtures of clearly outlined inertodetrinite and vitrodetrinite the uppermost layer in places where the coal is thought to be influenced by marine conditions is characterized by a densosporerich desmocollinite with abundant inertinite cluster quasigelifusinite the transitional layers between the lower half and the uppermost layer are dominated by fine grained vitrinite with disseminated spores of distinctive shape and size punctatisporites sp and schopfites sp in many places a clay or mineral rich parting with abundant alginite fragmented megaspores and clay filled microspores are also observed in the transitional layers any layer composed of unique plant assemblage a plant community representing a specific environment in time and space is termed a phytostrome the unique association of macerals is termed a lithotype five genetic lithotypes are recognized kittosite herbosite klastosite arborosite and allosite representing 1 brackish 2 transitional 3 limnic 4 freshwater arboreous and 5 reworked peat respectively the accumulation of the last phase of the lower kittanning coal appears to have been influenced by a transgressive sea

iron and manganese content in groundwater on the northeastern coast of the buenos aires province argentina the iron and manganese content in groundwater on the northeastern coast of the buenos aires province argentina was analyzed borehole sampling and chemical analyses were performed and evaluated based on the hydrogeological characteristics of the phreatic aquifer located in the coastal barrier which is the only supply source to the population fe concentrations in groundwater fluctuate between 0 03 and 3 5 mg l with a mean value of 0 33 mg l whereas mn varies between 0 03 and 1 20 mg l with a mean value of 0 24 mg l there is a relationship between the geomorphological environments and the distribution of major ions except the case of fe and mn the sand that constitutes the aquifer contains pyroxenes amphiboles biotite fe oxides and hydroxides and volcanic groundmass stained by hydroxides all of which are the source of fe and mn whose concentrations are unrelated to each other to ph or to eh due to a state of redox disequilibrium possible health risks due to fe and mn excess in water are considered according to the international guidelines for fe 38 of the samples exceed the acceptable values while 33 exceed the argentine standards as regards mn the samples with excess mn are 53 and 38 respectively further groundwater quality monitoring and chemical studies are necessary especially regarding the evolution of fe and mn contents to offer an adequate supply of drinking water to the population it is necessary to remove fe and mn so that the concentrations are within the drinking water guidelines

relationships among macerals minerals miospores and paleoecology in a column of redstone coal upper pennsylvanian from north central west virginia u s a abstract two distinct paleoenvironments are represented in vertical succession in a column of redstone coal in north central west virginia as indicated by a study of 37 consecutive 3 cm 0 1 ft increments analyzed for ash yield petrographic composition low temperature ash mineralogy and palynomorph abundances abundance profiles were constructed for ash 12 petrographic components 3 minerals and 5 miospore assemblages the profiles and calculated correlation coefficients show close relationships between several constituents components that increased in abundance upward in the coal bed were a collinite type 50 microns in thickness cutinite and miospores affiliated with calamites herbaceous lycopods cordaites and herbaceous ferns components that decreased in abundance upward were a collinite type 50 m in thickness cutinite calamite and cordaite miospores and kaolinite significant correlations occurred between ash yield and the collinite types 50 and

vegetational history of the springfield coal middle pennsylvanian of illinois and distribution patterns of a tree fern miospore thymospora pseudothiessenii based on miospore profiles abstract the vegetational history of the springfield no 5 coal member in the southwestern and southeasternmost portion of the illinois basin is reconstructed from palynological profiles of the coal seam in most parts of the swamp dominance was shared by arborescent lycopods that produced lycospora granulata and two tree ferns that produced thymospora pseudothiessenii and laevigatosporites globosus the profiles suggest that populations of the thymospora producing tree fern occupied sites for long periods in the southwestern portion of the basin vegetation changes can be correlated to the splitting of a coal in the proximity to a paleochannel a greater understanding of the ecological requirements of some of the spore taxa of the springfield coal is seen by the patterns of the same taxa in surrounding spoon and carbondale coals some taxa appear to be more generalists and other more specialists that are more restricted to a certain type of coal

intercomparison of submarine groundwater discharge estimates from a sandy unconfined aquifer summary recent studies suggest that chemical loading from submarine groundwater discharge sgd may rival other major sources such as rivers in many coastal areas sgd can occur as terrestrially derived typically fresh groundwater discharge or by seawater circulation through aquifer sediments because both terrestrial and recirculated seawater sgd can be significant sources of chemical loading to coastal waters appropriate methods are needed to properly assess and quantify the rates and distribution of these different inputs although many techniques exist to quantify sgd each method samples different components of sgd e g fresh versus saline discharge over different temporal and spatial scales the result is that confusion exists about how to use the different methods in this study we investigate the applicability of a variety of techniques for estimating sgd from an unconfined sandy coastal aquifer physical methods are first used to understand the spatial variability of discharge this information is then used with physical and geochemical data to estimate sgd investigative methods include direct measurement via seepage meters hydrogeologic estimation using darcy s law and tracer based estimates using radon and radium isotopes at our field site on cape cod massachusetts nearshore landward topography appears to exert a significant control on the spatial variability of fresh groundwater discharge presumably through its effects on evapotranspiration and hence recharge rates the darcy estimate of fresh sgd 4 0 m 3 m 1 d 1 is similar to a previous estimate made using a seepage meter transect that spans the seepage face radon serves as a valuable estimator of total sgd fresh plus saline 5 6 m 3 m 1 d 1 the difference between the total and fresh sgd estimates is in good agreement with the radium based sgd estimate 0 56 m 3 m 1 d 1 which primarily measures saline circulation through coastal sediments thus we conclude that the hydrogeologic estimate and radon and radium techniques are complimentary for estimating different components of total sgd at our field site

petrography geochemistry and palynology of the stockton coal bed middle pennsylvanian martin county kentucky abstract the middle pennsylvanian westphalian d stockton also known as the broas coal bed of the breathitt formation is an important energy resource in kentucky petrographic geochemical and palynologic studies were undertaken from mine core and highway exposures in martin and northern pike counies kentucky in order to determine the influence of the stockton depositional ecosystem on those parameters vitrinite rich stockton lithotypes are dominated by lycospora dull lithotypes including both high and low ash yield durains generally have abundant densosporites suggesting that the parent plant inhabited a fairly wide range of environments lithologies having tree ferns as an important component also have high fusinite semifusinite and a low telinite gelocollinite ratio the aerial root bundles of the tree ferns were susceptible to oxidation and for tissue not oxidized to inertinite to preservation as gelocollinite in the initial stages of formation the stockton mire was discontinuous and had a rather restricted floral assemblage the presence of durains higher in the stockton section particularly the low ash yield durains having petrographic indicators of degradation suggests that portions of the mire developed as a domed peat the termination of the mire as a high sulfur arboreous lycopod domimated mire is consistent with the return to more planar mire development

ragged edge of the herrin no 11 coal western kentucky abstract the herrin no 11 coal in western kentucky is normally a bright banded high vitrinite high sulfur coal three sites have been found where the coal deviates from the expected appearance in union county a site known only from a literature description the upper two thirds of the coal was described as a cannel in ohio county a thin truncated section of the herrin coal has a greater abundance of liptinite and inertinite rich microlithotypes towards the top of the seam the various microlithotypes were frequently found in brecciated assemblages in hopkins county the herrin coal was found to be largely a coarse breccia of oxidized macerals cemented by calcite a marine limestone was present as a parting within the coal each occurrence represents the edge of the coal the sites varied in the energy of the environment and perhaps also in proximity to marine waters

paleoecology of the fire clay coal bed in a portion of the eastern kentucky coal field vertically continuous increment samples of the fire clay coal bed mid middle pennsylvanian late westphalian b collected from a portion of the central appalachian basin were studied palynologically petrographically and geochemically in order to partially reconstruct the paleoecology and processes associated with peat formation in the ancient fire clay paleomire results indicate that four compositional groups can be identified they are 1 a lycospora vitrinite dominant group characterized by high percentages of lycospora and vitrinite macerals and generally low but variable ash yields and sulfur contents 2 a mixed palynoflora high vitrinite group that petrographically is similar to group 1 except that it contains a more diverse palynoflora 3 a mixed palynoflora moderate low vitrinite group characterized by various admixtures of lycopsid fern and calamite miospores increased percentages of liptinite and inertinite macerals and low ash yields and sulfur contents and 4 a mixed palynoflora high ash yield group characterized by high percentages of small lycopsid fern and occasionally calamite and cordaite miospores high liptinite and inertinite contents high ash yields and moderate to high sulfur contents the fire clay coal bed contains a distinctive flint clay parting of probable volcanic origin that naturally divides the bed into two benches these two benches upper and lower are highly disparte in occurrence appearance and composition in the study area the lower bench generally is thin 0 5 m laterally discontinuous and mainly composed of dull mainly durain coal lithotypes ash yields typically are high sulfur contents generally are moderate to high compositional group 4 the mixed palynoflora high ash yield group defines all of the increments examined from the lower bench in contrast the upper bench is thick 0 75 m laterally continous and mainly comprised of bright mainly clarain coal lithotypes overall ash yields and sulfur contents for this bench are generally low although vertical variation is apparent all of the compositional groups occur in the upper bench in some columns notably those that are thick and uninterrupted by clastic partings groups 1 and 4 often occupy basal coal layers and groups 2 and 3 occur in higher layers other columns especially those taken in areas of thin 0 5 m fire clay coal are dominated by groups 1 and 4

comparisons of central appalachian carboniferous coal beds by benches and a raised holocene peat deposit abstract three carboniferous age coals from southern west virginia u s a were examined at bench level and compared to a holocene peat deposit the snuggedy swamp south carolina u s a data for all deposits consisted of coal or peat thickness ash content and petrographic composition as well as parting or overlying clastic sediment thickness comparison of coal and parting thickness showed an inverse relationship in all cases bimodal distribution patterns for coal peat thickness versus area indicate that the transition between areas of extensive thick coal peat and extensive thin coal peat was rapid in the coal deposits at bench level both ash and organic inert content increased toward the transition to thin coal the areas of thick coal contained the highest vitrinite reactive contents and lowest ash values volumetrically this is similar to the distribution of low ash well preserved thick peat occurring in the central raised areas of the snuggedy swamp surrounded by areas of high ash decomposed peat subject to flooding although the depositional environments interpreted for each of the three coal beds and the snuggedy peat deposit differ widely the deposits themselves show similar distribution trends in thickness ash content and petrographic composition

pedogenic gradients for iron and aluminum accumulation and phosphorus depletion in arctic and alpine soils as a function of time and climate pedogenically significant chemical extracts of iron aluminum and phosphorus are related mainly to time in chronosequences from baffin island canadian arctic the alpine sierra nevada and wind river range western united states the alpine khumbu glacier area himalaya nepal and the alpine southern alps new zealand based on the accumulation index for fe and al and the depletion index for p in each region the following ranking of chemical pedogenic development is obtained southern alps khumbu glacier area wind river range sierra nevada coastal baffin island inland baffin island the ranking mainly follows regional climate with the greatest accumulation and depletion to the warmest and wettest environment and the least accumulation and depletion in the coldest and driest environment

paleoclimate controls on late paleozoic sedimentation and peat formation in the central appalachian basin u s a abstract in the central appalachian basin at least two major climate changes affected sedimentation during the late paleozoic stratigraphically these two changes are indicated by the distribution of coal beds the variation in coal quality and the variation in rock lithologies in latest mississippian or earliest pennsylvanian time the climate changed from dry seasonal tropical to ever wet equable tropical the equable climate prevailed into the middle pennsylvanian influencing the morphology and geochemistry in peat forming environments many of the peat deposits which formed under the equable climate were probably domed raised bogs low concentrations of dissolved solids in peat formation water resulted in low buffering capacity organic acids caused acidic ph another climate change occurred in late middle pennsylvanian time when evapopation periodically exceeded rainfall resulting in an increase of both dissolved solids and ph 4 to 7 in surface and near surface water throughout the remainder of the pennsylvanian the surfaces of peat deposits were probably planar not domed water in peat forming and other depositional environments became more nearly neutral the coal beds derived from these peats are highly variable in both ash and sulfur contents drier or more seasonal climates are also indicated by sequences of 1 calcareous sandstone and shale 2 nonmarine limestone that shows shallow water and subaerial exposure features and 3 calcareous paleosols that have caliche characteristics our data and observations indicate that physical depositional environment models for the origin of coal do not adequately explain variations in mineral matter content and composition in commercial quality coal beds in the central appalachian basin stratigraphic variation in mineral matter in coal beds and in syngenetic and early diagenetic minerals in rocks associated with the coal beds appears to be better explained by changes in geochemical conditions of nonmarine sedimentation paleoclimate was a principle control on these geochemical conditions

stratigraphic and regional variation of the petrographic and chemical properties of the tradewater formation coals and surrounding rocks in western kentucky abstract the stratigraphic and regional variation of petrographic and chemical properties within the coals of the upper carboniferous tradewater formation and surrounding rocks in the western kentucky coal field were analyzed with the intent of constructing a depositional model for the occurrence of these low sulfur coals cores were megascopically described and coal samples were analyzed for maceral ash and sulfur contents these data were then analyzed to determine regional variation within the study area as well as vertical variation within single coal columns sedimentological data from core logs indicate that the majority of the tradewater rocks consist of irregularly distributed coarsening upward fine grained detrital material that was deposited in shallow bodies of water fossiliferous shales and limestones indicate a marine influence less common coarse grained fining upward sequences appear to represent deposits of meandering or braided channels like the detrital rocks the coal seams are irregularly distributed and exhibit substantial variation in petrographic and chemical properties which reflect changes in the eh and ph of the coal swamp waters these individual swamps were relatively limited in extent and probably occupied a low lying coastal area the relatively high vitrinite content of most of the coals suggests a reasonable degree of preservation of decaying plant materials the study of benched samples from surface mines suggests a distinct dichotomy between swamps that were in more or less continuous contact with sulfate rich marine or brackish water and those in which peat accumulated in a dominantly fresh water setting most of the latter show a pattern of upward increasing sulfur content and decreasing vitrinite content indicating increasing influences of oxygenated water that would encourage microbial action and which would degrade the peat and increase the tendency for sulfide precipitation the high sulfur coals do not display this variability the high rates of lateral variability encountered in the data suggest that future study should concentrate on smaller areas where variation can be completely documented

extractable fe and al as an indicator for buried soil horizons summary reddish brown and associated horizons from several buried soils were analyzed for dithionite oxalate and pyrophosphate extractable fe and al although these methods can be used with surficial soils they are not necessarily applicable to buried soils however on the basis of morphology and the fact that dithionite and oxalate extractable fe and al were always highest for the reddish brown horizon in each profile sequence it was concluded that these horizons were zones of pedogenic accumulation since pyrophosphate extractable fe and al essentially measures only the organic forms of pedogenic fe and al and organic compounds are usually subjected to further degradation after burial it is suggested that for buried soils dithionite and oxalate extractable fe and al are more meaningful comparisons with data in the literature giving typical ranges for the main types of soil horizons allowed both the classification of the profiles sampled and the recognition of past processes such as gleying which are not identifiable morphologically today

preparation and analysis of coal seam data utilizing paleoenvironment modeling hazard 7 coal eastern kentucky abstract pennsylvanian strata of the hazard coalfield eastern kentucky contain fluvial upper delta plain facies characterized by thick localized coals bay fill shales levee silt and sandstones and channel fill sands and gravels although the deltaic nature of these sediments has long been established mining and exploration activities in the district require a thorough understanding of small areas within the delta environment coal quantity and quality trends in the hazard 7 seam the major producer in the area have been examined in detail the 7 coal accumulated in a peat swamp restricted laterally by a major fluvial channel three types of non coal parting are recognized thin tabular fine grained partings resulted from periods of increased terrigenous influx into the swamp lenticular crevasse splay deposits locally split the coal wedge shaped fine to coarse grained partings of probable levee origin are found along the channel margin post swamp deposits consist of thick bay fill shales thin shales silt and sandstones deposited on floodplains and channel fill sandstones and gravels the modeling technique discussed provides guidance for mine development and regional exploration by prediction of coal seam quantity and quality trends from local geologic features the thickest 7 coal is split by thin tabular partings and is overlain by thick shale sequences coal overlain by silt and sandstone is thinner and unsplit and typically of higher heat value regional seam thinning due to channel scour is recognized factors which control the configuration of the coal seam include position within the peat swamp proximity to the fluvial channel swamp burial processes and paleochannel sinuosity

comparison of the petrography palynology and paleobotany of the stockton coal bed west virginia and implications for paleoenvironmental interpretations abstract the stockton coal bed middle pennsylvanian is a relatively high ash coal composed primarily of moderately thin banded sparsely thin banded and nonbanded coal splint and cannel coal comparisons of petrographic palynologic and paleobotanic data gathered from the same sample sets from a single column of the stockton coal bed indicate that compositional correspondences among the sets exist regardless of coal type some correspondences are believed to exist because of original plant constituents and others because of the paleoenvironment of peat formation using some combination of these data is critical when interpreting paleoenvironmental conditions because 1 a direct correspondence is lacking between many of the data and 2 each of the three data sets provides a unique and important perspective on the paleomire the stockton paleomire in the area of this study supported a diverse flora that consisted of both small and arboreous lycopsids small ferns and tree ferns calamites cordaites and pteridosperms there appear to have been two successions of lycospora spore dominated vitrinite rich liptinite poor peat formation which were followed by inertinite rich peat formation marked by a tree fern dominant spore assemblage and abundant unidentifiable plant tissues these are interpreted to be two water laden or topogenous peat formational stages followed by slightly domed better drained peat formation

stratigraphy and geochemistry of a sequence of quaternary palaeosols in the lower teleki valley mount kenya east africa implications for interregional correlations the relative weathering of a sequence of five palaesols formed in different parent materials including bedrock of phonolitic composition is described and assessed the three lower palaeosols units 3 5 are considered to be of interglacial origin the saprolite unit 5 in phonolite formed prior to deposition of the lower brunhes age till is considered to be as old as the brunhes matuyama boundary 0 73 myr the other two palaeosols in this group units 3 and 4 derived from loess and till respectively formed over middle to late brunhes time under palaeoclimates that were wetter and presumably warmer and of sufficient leaching power to move clay as well as organically complexed extractable fe and al the palaeosols in unit 3 are more complex than the lower ones their upper and lower horizons have about the same chemical composition as the lowest two palaeosols while the middle horizons are similar to the upper two palaeosols units 1 and 2 radiocarbon dates for unit 3 are considered to be too young to account for the strong weathering in the upper and lower horizons this interpretation is supported by high d l ratios of aspartic acid overlying sediments emplaced by episodic colluvial unit 2 and slope wash unit 1 processes are less weathered the lower colluvial unit in this group was emplaced during the late stade of the last glaciation the surface sediments were emplaced more recently during the same interval and weathered mainly during the post glacial period tentative correlations with core 82pcs18 from the canary basin show that upper unit 3 is probably equivalent to isotope stage 5e lower unit 3 to isotope stage 7 unit 4 to isotope stage 8 and unit 5 to isotope stage 9 units 1 and 2 are firmly correlated with isotope stage 2

estimating groundwater discharge into the northeastern gulf of mexico using radon 222 abstract submarine groundwater discharge sgd may provide important chemical constituents to the ocean but the dispersed nature of this process makes locating and quantifying its input extremely difficult since groundwater contains 3 4 orders of magnitude greater radon than seawater 222rn may be a useful tracer of this process if all other sources of radon to bottom waters can be evaluated we report development of a sgd tracing tool based on radon inventories in a coastal area of the northeastern gulf of mexico we evaluated factors that influence the concentration of radon in the water column i e production decay horizontal transport and loss across the pycnocline using a linked benthic exchange horizontal transport model total 222rn benthic fluxes 2420 dpm m 2 day 1 measured with in situ chambers are of the magnitude required to support measured sub pycnocline 222rn inventories while estimates of molecular diffusion show that this input is relatively small 230 dpm m 2 day 1 using this model approach together with measurements of the radon inventory we estimated a regional subsurface fluid flow ranging from 180 to 710 m3 sec 1 into the 620 km2 study area this discharge equivalent to an upward advective velocity of approximately 2 10 cm day 1 dispersed over this entire study area is equivalent to approximately 20 first magnitude springs

geochemistry of the pond creek coal bed eastern kentucky coalfield the pond creek coal bed middle pennsylvanian breathitt formation is an important low sulfur resource in pike and martin countries in the eastern kentucky coalfield the mined area is crossed by the n20 e trending belfry anticline the pond creek coal bed has a higher sulfur content on the west side of the anticline the vertical trends in the ash geochemistry also vary across the anticline the sites to the east of the anticline represent deposition of peat through periods of relative stability with slow deposition bright lithotypes interspersed with periods of relatively rapid clastic deposition dull lithotypes both generally removed from marine influence comparison of elemental trends between the lowest bright lithotype and the second bright lithotype suggest that the swamp became less acidic with time an upward decrease in minor element concentration may be related to the influx of clays and other silicates present in the bone lithotype this bone may have acted as a relatively low nutrient soil for the growth of the plants which contributed to the overlying bright lithotype the sites to the west of the anticline were subjected to a greater marine influence than the eastern sites high k2o al2o3 ratios at the bottom and top of the coal bed and a high tio2 zr dull clarain near the bottom of the coal point to clastic influences on the geochemistry the relatively high cao percentages in the middle third of the coal bed suggest deposition at near neutral ph the upper third of the coal bed was dominated by syngenetic and epigenetic pyrite emplacement

block coals from indiana inferences on changing depositional environment significant differences in coal petrography palynology and coal quality were found between the lower block and upper block coal members brazil formation pennsylvanian in daviess county indiana the lower block coal member ranges in thickness from 51 to 74 cm and the upper block coal member ranges from 20 to 65 cm average sulfur content and ash yield of the lower block coal 0 98 7 65 are lower than in the upper block coal megascopically the coals show distinct differences the lower block is a banded coal with numerous thin fusain horizons and a thin clay parting in the lower third of the seam the upper block coal has a dulling upward trend with a bright clarain found at the base that grades into a clarain and then into a durain in the upper portion of the seam vitrinite content of the lower block coal ranges from 63 to 78 with the highest vitrinite content found in the middle portion of the seam in the upper block coal vitrinite content ranges from 40 to 83 with the highest values found in the lower part of the seam ash yield is higher in the upper part of the upper block coal reaching up to 40 the lower block coal is dominated by lycopod trees and tree ferns the upper block coal shows marked differences in spore assemblages between lower and upper parts of the seam the lower half is dominated by large lycopod trees and tree ferns similar to the lower block coal the upper half is dominated by small lycopods mainly densosporites and radiizonates these differences between the lower block and upper block coal members are significant correlation tools applicable to mining exploration and chronostratigraphy

pennsylvanian continental cyclothem development no evidence of direct climatic control in the upper freeport formation allegheny group of pennsylvania northern appalachian basin abstract the occurrence of lacustrine carbonates in the allegheny group upper middle pennsylvanian continental cyclothems of the northern appalachian basin has been attributed to climatic alternation of wet coal deposition and dry carbonate deposition periods however we present evidence from facies associations coal and carbonate petrography and carbonate stable isotope geochemistry for a uniformly wet climate throughout deposition of one of the earliest continental cyclothems the upper freeport formation uff we propose a depositional model comprising a large wetland complex drained by an anastomosed fluvial system containing a mosaic of channels freshwater siliciclastic and carbonate lakes and peat bogs swamps on a siliciclastic floodplain carbonate phases represent bio induced precipitates modified by lake dynamics and not evaporative deposits absence of covariant isotopic trends between 18o and 13c and a relatively small range of 18o values 1 9 to 6 4 pdb that are close to or lighter than predicted paleoprecipitation for the pennsylvanian equatorial regions indicate hydrologically open short residence time lake systems in support of our sedimentary model combined sedimentologic and isotopic data do not indicate reduced effective moisture precipitation evaporation during intervals of limestone deposition the uff lakes developed in a relatively wet climate zone without significant episodic closure due to climatically induced water deficit lithologic patterns within the uff cyclothem are primarily attributed to the evolution of anastomosed fluvial systems controlled by subsidence in an active foreland basin rather than to short term climatic change or eustacy

petrology of the pond creek coal bed in eastern kentucky abstract the middle pennsylvanian breathitt formation pond creek coal bed was examined along two cross sections in pike and martin countries in the eastern kentucky coal field along the north south profile the sulfur content increased markedly to the top of the bed in the eastern portion of the east west profile the coal bed is marked by a high vitrinite high ash bone shaley coal lithotype within the top half of the bed and by a thin clarodurite vitrinertoliptite rich durain at the top of the bed a northeastward plunging anticline termed here the belfry anticline marks the boundary between the high sulfur coal beds in the west and the appearance of the bony horizon on the east the coal and the interval between the rider and the coal bed both thin across the anticline which was active at the time of deposition

observations on the palynology petrography and geochemistry of the western kentucky number 4 coal bed abstract eight bench column samples of the western kentucky number 4 coal bed collected from an area along the southern margin of the western kentucky coal field were analyzed palynologically petrographically and geochemically to document both temporal and spatial variability among these parameters the western kentucky number 4 coal occurs near the top of the tradewater formation is of early desmoinesian age and is correlative with the lower part of the allegheny formation of the appalachian basin and late bolsovian strata of western europe palynologically the coal is co dominated by spores that were produced by lycopod trees lycospora and granasporites medius and tree ferns thin walled tree fern spores punctatisporites minutus p minutus p rotundus are more abundant than thick walled forms laevigatosporites globosus p granifer calamitean spores calamospora and laevigatosporites spp are locally abundant as is cordaitean pollen florinites small fern granulatisporites and small lycopod spores densosporites cirratriradites endosporites and anacanthotriletes spinosus are present but occur in minor amounts temporal changes in palynomorph composition occur but are not uniform between columns spatial variability among columns is also evident petrographically the coal is dominated by vitrinite macerals with telinite and telocollinite generally occurring more commonly than desmocollinite and gelocollinite basal benches typically contain high percentages of vitrinite middle benches usually contain higher percentages of liptinite and inertinite in about half the studied columns the terminal coal benches show a slight increase in vitrinite in the study area the petrography of the western kentucky number 4 coal is more uniform than the palynology ash yields and total sulfur contents are temporally uniform in some columns but variable in others in the latter case higher percentages of ash and sulfur occur at the base of the bed and decrease up to the middle of the bed the terminal benches of these columns often but not always show slight increases in ash or sulfur both syngenetic and epigenetic forms of sulfur are present in the western kentucky number 4 coal the high vitrinite contents and moderate to high sulfur contents suggest that the western kentucky number 4 paleomire was mainly planar and rheotrophic throughout its developmental history groundwaters carrying dissolved solutes may have helped neutralize the normally acidic interstitial peat waters allowing for the production of sulfide minerals several of the columns with high sulfur contents at the base of the bed occur in faulted areas the faults could have promoted the flow of groundwaters through the peat providing an increased dissolved load for acid mitigation and sulfide formation the concentration of sulfur at the base of the bed may be a function of the peat underclay contact enhancing sulfide formation the clay layer may also have acted as an impermeable boundary for downward moving groundwaters causing mainly lateral rather than vertical movement along the base of the coal bed

petrographic zonation within the waynesburg coal abstract the waynesburg coal was sampled with four columns of oriented blocks three columns within one surface mine and a fourth from a surface mine approximately 1 6 km distant each column was described as to lithotype based upon the relative abundance of bright and dull banding each lithotype band was sampled and analyzed for maceral and mineral matter content which was in turn used to delineate petrographic zones within the coal statistical analysis of the data showed that the two benches of the coeal were different in maceral composition but similar in the amount of mineral matter they contained the petrographic data showed that laterally persistent zones of petrographic similarity are recognizable within the study area which reflect the geochemical and depositional history of the original peat forming swamp

sulfur variability and petrology of the lower block coal member pennsylvanian in southwest indiana abstract the lower block coal member pennsylvanian atokan westphalian c is an economic low to medium sulfur low ash coal resource in the illinois basin sulfur content is generally low averaging 1 0 in the study area but varies over short distances higher sulfur areas occur as isolated pods and epigenetic pyrite increases significantly in the upper third of the selected columns in higher sulfur areas sulfur variations cannot be predicted by typical geologic characteristics such as roof lithology seam thickness or seam elevation petrographic analysis shows that pyrite is generally associated with brighter microlithotypes except in higher sulfur areas where infilling pyrite forms are associated with inertite higher sulfur areas reflect the water chemistry of the paleomire during and shortly after peat accumulation locally abundant pyrofusinite provided additional pore space for pyrite precipitation

petrology and palynology of the no 5 block coal bed northeastern kentucky abstract the upper middle pennsylvanian middle westphalian d equivalent no 5 block coal bed eastern kentucky coal field of the central appalachian basin is a low sulfur compliance coal resource dominantly comprised of dull inertinite rich lithotypes ash yields tend to be highly variable in the no 5 block as does bed thickness and frequency of bed splitting this study describes the petrographic palynologic and geochemical characteristics of the no 5 block coal bed and reports on some temporal and spatial trends among these parameters in eastern northeastern kentucky petrographically the no 5 block coal is predominated by dull often high ash lithotypes with inertinite contents commonly exceeding 30 mmf the coal thins to the north northwest where it tends to be higher in vitrinite and sulfur content representatives of large and small lycopsids and ferns both tree like and small varieties dominate the no 5 block coal bed palynoflora calamite spores and cordaite pollen also occur but are less abundant small lycopsid densosporites spp and related crassicingulate genera and tree fern e g punctatisporites minutus laevigatosporites globosus spore taxa are most abundant in dull lithotypes bright lithotypes contain higher percentages of arboreous lycopsid spores lycospora spp regionally the no 5 block coal contains abundant torispora securis a tree fern spore specially adapted for desiccation prevention this along with overall high percentages of inertinite macerals suggest that peat accumulation may have taken place in a seasonally dry paleoclimate the no 5 block coal bed thickens rather dramatically in a nw se direction as does the frequency of coal bed splitting this phenomenon appears to be related to increased accomodation space in the southeastern portion of the study area perhaps via penecontemporaneous growth faulting maceral and palynomorph variations within the bed correspond with these changes thin coal along the northwestern margin tends to be vetrinite rich and contains abundant lycospora perhaps reflecting relatively stable peat forming conditions thicker coal to the southeast contains more inertinite high ash coal layers and inorganic partings spore floras contain more small lycopsid and tree fern components and are temporally variable perhaps indicating a more unstable peat forming environment

distributions and associations of selected trace elements in the lower kittanning seam western pennsylvania u s a abstract trace elements within the lower kittanning seam western pennsylvania show significant basinal variations many of these variations can be related to differences in the depositional environments of the peat as inferred by the nature of the overlying shales in that the distribution of minerals in this seam particularly that of clay minerals is controlled by depositional environment chromium cu v and zr show significant increases towards the northwestern and southeastern margins of the basin these trends can be explained by an association with clay minerals cr v and in part cu or with minor amounts of other detrital minerals zr clay composition of the lower kittanning seam reflects proximity to the sediment source and stability of the various clay minerals in the swamp environment kaolinite which increases in concentration towards the basin margins is primarily authigenic and shows a distribution that reflects the stability of this mineral in the relatively low ph freshwater areas of the peat swamp in this seam illite mica is predominantly detrital as inferred by polytype studies and increases along isolated sections of the basin margins where a greater detrital influx was experienced within the beryllium and ni also increase towards the basin margins these elements may have been trapped at the margins of the basin by the organic fraction of the peat or coal similarly cu may owe its distribution at least in part to organic trapping a decrease in be content along the southeastern margin of the basin may be due to the increase in coal rank observed in that area no basin wide trends were seen for ba mn and zn and their concentrations are controlled by local mineral occurences manganese variations for example can be related to local occurrences of siderite

estimation of submarine groundwater discharge from bulk ground electrical conductivity measurements the utility of bulk ground conductivity bgc measurements in the estimation of submarine groundwater discharge sgd was investigated at four sites covering a range of hydrogeological settings namely cockburn sound australia shelter island usa ubatuba bay brazil and flic en flac bay mauritius at each of the sites bgc was surveyed in the intertidal zone and seepage meters were used for direct measurements of sgd flow rates in the presence of detectable salinity gradients in the sediment a negative correlation between sgd and bgc was recorded the correlation is site specific and is dependent on both the type of sediment and the mixing processes for example at shelter island the maximum mean flow rates were 65 cm d 1 at a bgc of 0 ms cm 1 while at mauritius maximum mean flow rates were 364 cm d 1 at a bgc of 0 ms cm 1 bgc measurements are used to estimate sgd over a large scale and to separate its fresh and saline components extrapolating bgc measurements throughout the study sites yields a total discharge of 2 91 1 59 7 16 and 25 4 103 m3 d 1 km 1 of shoreline with a freshwater fraction of 41 24 29 and 63 at cockburn sound shelter island ubatuba bay and flic en flac bay respectively the results demonstrate that ground conductivity is a useful tracer to survey and separate freshwater and recirculated seawater component of sgd the presented investigation is a subset within a series of experiments designed to compare different methods to investigate sgd co organized and carried out by scor loicz ioc and iaea

relationship between petrographic and chemical properties and coal seam geometry hance seam breathitt formation southeastern kentucky the upper hance coal seam in southeastern kentucy was used as a template to examine the spatial distribution of ash yield sulfur content and petrographic constituents relative to the geometry of the deposit geometric characteristics include thinning and splitting of the two main benches leaders and riders analytical data showed the thick non split portions of the coal body to be low in ash and sulfur as well as vitrinite content whereas the thinned and split margins were higher in ash sulfur and vitrinite content these relationships suggest that thick non split portions of the upper hance peat accumulated in areas isolated from detrital influx while thinner marginal peat was subject to intermittent flooding from adjacent channels marginal peat was derived from larger trees which flourished at the mire s edge in the presence of adequate nutrients whereas only stunted vegetation subsisting in the nutrient depleted center contributed to interior peat accumulation ponds formed on the sparsely vegetated mature surface of the bog s interior the petrographic and chemical character of the hance coal body is analogous to ombrogenous domed peats which characteristically contain higher concentrations of inorganics at the periphery of the deposit

the effects of coalification and paleoenvironment on aliphatic and aromatic ch contents in the lower kittanning coal seam absorption spectra for 33 whole seam channel samples and 24 vitrinite concentrates of the lower kittanning coal seam in western pennsylvania and eastern ohio were obtained by fourier transform infrared ftir analysis absorption areas for aliphatic and aromatic functional groups were calculated and compared to selected parameters of coalification in bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses the aliphatic ch3 and lone ch contents show weak correlations with coalification whereas the correlations for aliphatic ch2 and all aromatic ch groups are stronger a secondary paleoenvironmental control over the concentrations of aliphatic ch3 ch2 and ch is suggested by trends on isopleth maps which show lateral variability of these components these maps suggest that paleotopography which influenced the distribution of marine and fresh water sediments and their associated flora was an important control in aliphatic concentrations statistical analysis indicates that the variability of aromatic ch may be entirely rank controlled

variation in pyrite size form and microlithotype association in the springfield no 9 and herrin no 11 coals western kentucky abstract channel samples of the springfield no 9 and herrin no 11 pennsylvanian desmoinesian westphalian d coals were acquired in three mines each in the western kentucky coal field pyrite was characterized petrographically in terms of its size form and microlithotype association within each coal seam significant variations in the amount of pyrite of certain forms occurred between the sites pyritic sulfur as determined chemically did not exhibit significant variation between the seams or between the sites the variation in dendritic pyrite in vitrite plus clarite between seams and between sites was highly significant and the variation in framboidal pyrite in vitrite plus clarite between sites was also highly significant

geochemistry of the blue gem coal bed knox county kentucky abstract the blue gem coal bed middle pennsylvanian westphalian b breathitt formation has low ash with some sample sites having less than 1 ash and low sulfur contents through parts of knox county kentucky most collection sites exhibit similar vertical elemental trends in ash geochemistry the relatively high ash 1 ash lower part of the bed displays enrichment in tio2 zr cr v and ni co zn rb and mn show enrichment at some sites a low ash 1 ash and a relative enrichment in sio2 k2o and rb and a relative decrease in cu ni co ba and mn when compared to the middle part of the bed principal components analysis indicates that the samples with an ash content 0 63 1 0 show associations for ni cu cr and co samples with between 1 01 2 0 ash display strong element associations that suggest increased clastic sediment contributions tio2 zr k2o rb sio2 the low ash content and the upwards decrease in trace concentrations both suggest that the blue gem peat swamp was ombrotrophic through at least a part of its geologic history

eustatic and autocyclic influences on deposition of the lower pennsylvanian mary lee coal zone warrior basin alabama abstract deposition of marine strata associated with the lower pennsylvanian mary lee coal zone pottsville formation was controlled by the allocyclic mechanism of eustatic sea level change the vertical stacking of marine marginal marine and terrestrial facies indicates that this interval was deposited during a single transgression regression transgression cycle ravinement surfaces and associated autochthonous macro invertebrate and trace fossil assemblages record the landward retreat of the shoreline and abrupt deepening due to rapid rise in sea level these horizons are overlain by terrigenous clastic facies either tidal sand bodies or shelf mudstones which indicate shoaling due to progradation during the subsequent filling of the generated accommodation space although marine influence including the effects of tidal currents continued during the more terrestrial phases of deposition autocyclic factors including the control of paleotopography by differential compaction of buried peat bodies were also important in determining facies distribution

a late holocene 2600 bp glacial advance in the south central andes 29 s northern chile radiocarbon dates and relative ages of soils on moraines provide evidence of a substantial late holocene 2600 bp readvance of glaciers in the western part of the arid andes at 29 s the glacier in the encierro valley northern chile reached about 60 of its late pleistocene extent the equilibrium line altitude ela during this advance remained between 4250 and 4500 m which is above the modern 0 c isotherm of the free atmosphere during summer it is suggested that given the specific climate at high elevations in the extremely arid andes a substantial increase in effective moisture is sufficient to explain this advance whereas no significant temperature depression was needed this compares favourably with the regional late holocene climatic history when lake levels were higher and effective moisture greater than today between 3000 and 1800 bp judging from regional palaeodata we suggest that this late holocene humid spell was most likely related to increased westerly moisture sources from the pacific

trace element cycling in a subterranean estuary part 2 geochemistry of the pore water abstract submarine groundwater discharge sgd is an important source of dissolved elements to the ocean yet little is known regarding the chemical reactions that control their flux from sandy coastal aquifers the net flux of elements from sgd to the coastal ocean is dependent on biogeochemical reactions in the groundwater seawater mixing zone recently termed the subterranean estuary this paper is the second in a two part series on the biogeochemistry of the waquoit bay coastal aquifer subterranean estuary the first paper addressed the biogeochemistry of fe mn p ba u and th from the perspective of the sediment composition of cores charette et al charette m a sholkovitz e r hansell c m 2005 trace element cycling in a subterranean estuary part 1 geochemistry of the permeable sediments geochim cosmochim acta 69 2095 2109 this paper uses pore water data from the subterranean estuary along with bay surface water data to establish a more detailed view into the estuarine chemistry and the chemical diagenesis of fe mn u ba and sr in coastal aquifers nine high resolution pore water groundwater profiles were collected from the head of the bay during july 2002 there were non conservative additions of both ba and sr in the salinity transition zone of the subterranean estuary however the extent of sr release was significantly less than that of its alkaline earth neighbor ba pore water ba concentrations approached 3000 nm compared with 25 50 nm in the surface waters of the bay the pore water sr salinity distribution suggests a 26 elevation in the amount of sr added to the subterranean estuary the release of dissolved ba to the mixing zone of surface estuaries is frequently attributed to an ion exchange process whereby seawater cations react with ba from river suspended clay mineral particles at low to intermediate salinity results presented here suggest that reductive dissolution of mn oxides in conjunction with changes in salinity may also be an important process in maintaining high concentrations of ba in the pore water of subterranean estuaries in contrast pore water u was significantly depleted in the subterranean estuary a result of sgd driven circulation of seawater through reducing permeable sediments this finding is supported by surface water concentrations of u in the bay which were significantly depleted in u compared with adjacent coastal waters using a global estimate of sgd we calculate u removal in subterranean estuaries at 20 106 mol u y 1 which is the same order of magnitude as the other major u sinks for the ocean our results suggest a need to revisit and reevaluate the oceanic budgets for elements that are likely influenced by sgd associated processes

elemental concentrations and their distribution in two bituminous coals of different paleoenvironments abstract the vertical distributions of major and minor elements in two high volatile bituminous coals of eastern tennessee are compared the coals studied are the pewee deposited in a fresh water environment and the upper grassy spring previously thought to be influenced by a late incursion of marine water x ray fluorescence analyses were performed on a continuous series of specimens obtained from full face channel samples representing the entire thickness of each seam correlation coefficients r for all element pairs show high positive correlations for element pairs normally associated with clay minerals equally good correlations were observed for si ti and al ti suggesting that titanium is associated with clay minerals in both coals strontium and phosphorous showed a high positive r factor for both the upper grassy spring and the pewee major differences were found to exist in the concentrations and distributions of sulfur iron and arsenic in the upper grassy spring and pewee seams the upper grassy spring contains an order of magnitude more sulfur than the pewee as well as several times as much iron and arsenic the element concentrations and especially their distributions in the upper grassy spring suggest an earlier time for the marine incursion than previously reported in fact there is evidence that this coal deposit may have been influenced by marine conditions from its inception

coal facies studies in the eastern united states coals in the eastern united states east of the mississippi river have been the subject of a number of coal facies studies going back to the 19th century such studies would not necessarily fall within a strict modern classification of coal facies studies but if a study encompassed some aspects of paleobotany palynology petrology geochemistry or sedimentology we assumed that some data and interpretations may be of use in evaluations of the facies references are presented as a guide for further research with annotation in the tables

extractable al and fe in early to middle quaternary paleosols in gorges valley mount kenya east africa summary two of the oldest paleosols on mount kenya east africa in the gorges moraine of early pleistocene age were studied to determine if extractable fe and al might prove useful in the interpretation of present and past soil forming environments using documented paleomagnetic ages for the tills and loesses we attempted to determine if extractable crystalline fe and al could provide information on relative age paleomagnetic dating places the tills as slightly younger than the olduvai subchron the data indicate that no pyrophosphate extractable fe and al normalized against fe d and al d have been translocated downward in the two paleosols further the amount of dithionite extractable fe is greater in the paleosol solum under hagenia forest which is in accordance with its older relative age early brunhes established by paleomagnetic methods the activity ratio fe 0 fe d for the sola aeolian sediments in the two paleosols shows overall lower values in the paleosol under hagenia forest suggesting greater conversion to crystalline fe as well as advanced age

cretaceous and eocene lignite deposits jackson purchase kentucky abstract lignites occur in the cretaceous mcnairy formation and the eocene claiborne formation in the jackson purchase region of western kentucky the lone cretaceous lignite sample has over 18 percent inertodetrinite and 32 percent humodetrinite which along with the abundant mineral matter suggests a possible allochthonous origin for the deposit the claiborne formation lignites have higher humic maceral contents than the cretaceous lignites palynology suggests that there was considerable variation in the plant communities responsible for the claiborne deposits differences in the preservation of the various plants is also seen in the variations between the humic types particularly in the ulminite and humodetrinite contents potter and dilcher 1980 suggested that the claiborne lignites in the jackson purchase and west tennessee developed in the abandoned oxbows of eocene rivers significant short distance changes in the peat thickness flora and other depositional elements should be expected in such an environment and could easily account for the observed variations in composition

determining groundwater ra end member values for the estimation of the magnitude of submarine groundwater discharge using ra isotope tracers radium isotopes 228ra and 226ra are excellent tracers of submarine groundwater discharge sgd to estimate sgd magnitudes information on the end member values of ra concentrations in groundwater is critical however the distribution characteristics of ra in coastal aquifers are poorly understood in this study we show that ra concentrations in coastal groundwater are primarily dependent on salinity based on the data n 500 obtained from global coastal aquifers although previous end member calculations averaged all ra concentrations without considering salinity if we assume that sgd is composed mainly of seawater infiltrating the aquifer previous estimates of sgd for the atlantic ocean and the global ocean were overestimated twofold to threefold this may be similar for other applications using different ra isotopes our study highlights that the end members of ra isotopes in groundwater should be carefully considered when estimating sgd using ra isotope mass balances in the ocean

place vs time and vegetational persistence a comparison of four tropical mires from the illinois basin during the height of the pennsylvanian ice age abstract coal balls were collected from four coal beds in the southeastern part of the illinois basin collections were made from the springfield herrin and baker coals in western kentucky and from the danville coal in southwestern indiana these four coal beds are among the principal mineable coals of the illinois basin and belong to the carbondale and shelburn formations of late middle pennsylvanian age vegetational composition was analyzed quantitatively coal ball samples from the springfield herrin and baker are dominated by the lycopsid tree lepidophloios with lesser numbers of psaronius tree ferns medullosan pteridosperms and the lycopsid trees synchysidendron and diaphorodendron this vegetation is similar to that found in the springfield and herrin coals elsewhere in the illinois basin as reported in previous studies the danville coal sample which is considerably smaller than the others is dominated by psaronius with the lycopsids sigillaria and synchysidendron as subdominants coal balls from the springfield coal were collected in zones directly from the coal bed and their zone by zone composition indicates three to four distinct plant assemblages the other coals were analyzed as whole seam random samples averaging the landscape composition of the parent mire environments this analysis indicates that these coals separated from each other by marine and terrestrial clastic deposits have essentially the same floristic composition and thus appear to represent a common species pool that persisted throughout the late middle pennsylvanian despite changes in baselevel and climate attendant the glacial interglacial cyclicity of the pennsylvanian ice age patterns of species abundance and diversity are much the same for the springfield herrin and baker although each coal both in the local area sampled and regionally has its own paleobotanical peculiarities despite minor differences these coals indicate a high degree of recurrence of assemblage and landscape organization the danville departs dramatically from the dominance diversity composition of the older coals presaging patterns of tree fern and sigillaria dominance of late pennsylvanian coals of the eastern united states but nonetheless built on a species pool shared with the older coals

effects of detrital influx in the pennsylvanian upper freeport peat swamp abstract quartz cathodoluminescence properties and mineralogy of three sets of samples and vegetal and or miospore data from two sets of samples from the upper freeport coal bed west central pennsylvania show that detrital influence from a penecontemporaneous channel is limited to an area less than three km from the channel the sets of samples examined include localities of the coal bed where 1 the coal is thin split by partings and near a penecontemporaneous fluvial channel 2 the coal is relatively thick and located approximately three km from the channel and 3 the coal is thick and located approximately 12 km from the channel samples from locality 1 nearest the channel have relatively high ash yields low temperature ash average 27 3 on a pyrite and calcite free basis and high proportions of quartz and clay minerals the quartz is primarily detrital as determined by cathodoluminescent properties and the ratio of kaolinite to illite is low in addition most of the plant remains and miospores indicate peat forming plants that required low nutrient levels for growth in contrast samples from localities 2 and 3 from the more interior parts of the bed contained predominantly authigenic quartz grains nd yielded low temperature ash values of less than 14 on a pyrite and calcite free basis the low temperature ash contains low concentrations of quartz and clay minerals and the ratio of kaolinite to illite is relatively high although intact core was not available for paleobotanical analyses another core collected within 1 km from locality 3 contained plant types interpreted to have required high nutrient levels for growth these data indicate that mineral formation is dominated by authigenic processes in interior parts of the coal body some of the authigenic quartz may have been derived from herbaceous ferns as indicated by patterns in the palynological and paleobotanical data in contrast detrital processes appeared to be limited to in areas directly adjacent to the penecontemporaneous channel where the coal bed is high in ash split by mineral rich partings and of little or no economic value

the influence of depositional environments on coal petrographic composition of the lower kittaning seam western pennsylvania abstract lateral variations in maceral composition of the lower kittanning seam can be explained in terms of differential preservation of plant materials which is influenced by the ph eh of water within the peat swamp and by the rate of subsidence within the central part of the basin high telocollinite contents are observed this type of vitrinite represents large well preserved pieces of woody tissue whose preservation was favored by rapid burial towards the margins of the basin high desmocollinite contents are seen slower burial combined with the influx of neutral oxygenated fresh water permitted decomposition of the precursor materials producing this highly degraded type of vitrinite vertical variations in telocollinite and desmocollinite content can also be related to burial rates and ph eh conditions within the swamp throughout the basin high telocollinate contents observed in the lower part of the seam resulted from rapid burial under relatively low ph conditions continued high rates of subsidence led to an influx of neutral ph oxidizing waters associated with the encroaching marine environment under these new conditions more degradation of plant tissues occurred producing the high desmocollinite contents observed in the upper part of the seam this effect was most pronounced in the center of the basin an alternative explanation would be a change in vegetation type in response to the changing conditions the high desmocollinite content would then reflect a shift to a community dominated by smaller possibly herbaceous plants in addition to a change in vitrinite type towards the top of the seam a decrease in total vitrinite content and increases in total liptinite and inertinite contents are observed the increase in liptinite content is due to either 1 the higher resistance to decomposition of liptinite precursor materials when compared to vitrinite precursors in the more neutral conditions or 2 a change from a dominantly arborescent vegetation to a more herbaceous one the increase in inertinite results from an increase in transported material inertodetrinite and or an increase in the formation of inertinite macerals such as degrado fusinite possibly in response to the encroaching marine conditions an additional control on maceral composition is the level of metamorphism of the coal total liptinite content decreases towards the southeast in this area the coal has attained a sufficiently high rank that the reflectance of liptinite macerals approaches that of vitrinite thus making their identification difficult

extractable fe al and mn in paleosols of late quaternary age in the virguna mountains northwestern rwanda abstract ground soils and buried paleosols in sediments of late quaternary age were studied to determine if fe al and mn concentrations might provide information on relative age as well as past and present soil forming environments extractable fe al and mn distributions indicate leaching was more aggressive in older interstadial paleosols of wurm age the ratio of ammonium oxalate extractable fe fe o to dithionite extractable fe fe d the fe o fe d activity ratio is often used to determine the degree of conversion of amorphous to crystalline fe this ratio could not be used with confidence in this study because magnetite which is abundant in these samples is susceptible to attack by acid ammonium oxalate oxalate extractable al al o is often higher than dithionite extractable al al d which appears to be a function of the ph of the buffer solutions extractable al and fe provide a reasonable assessment of relative age while mn yields little useful information the ratios fe p al p fe d al d and fe d fe t provide useful information regarding movement of pyrophosphate extractable fe fe p and al al p as well as development of organically bound and extractable crystalline fe over discrete intervals of time the most important paleoenvironmental assessment is that the kalambo interstadial paleosol of middle wurm age appears to have formed under a wetter and warmer climate than the postglacial soil

channel fill coal beds along the western margin of the eastern kentucky coal field abstract four channel filling coal beds from the lower part of the breathitt formation lower middle pennsylvanian late westphalian a were examined palynologically petrographically and geochemically to determine the paleoenvironmental conditions under which these peats accumulated these results were then compared with detailed sedimentological analyses of the strata overlying the coal in the channels to see if any genetic relationship between coal composition and the origin of the overburden could be drawn all four of the coal beds used in this study are located in the western most part of the eastern kentucky coal field and occur at or near the early pennsylvanian unconformity 0 30 m lycospora and densosporites and related crassicingulate taxa e g cristatisporites cingulizonates and radiizonates dominate the studied assemblages with granulatisporites and related trilete sphaerotriangular genera e g leiotriletes and lophotriletes laevigatosporites and schulzospora being common accessory genera petrographically all four coals contain high percentages of vitrinite macerals avg 78 6 mineral matter free moderate amounts of liptinite or exinite macerals avg 14 9 mmf and low percentages of inertinite macerals avg 6 5 mmf strata above the coals consist of dark carbonaceous shales and heterolithic strata that exhibit varying degrees of bioturbation commonly occurring trace fossils include arenicolites monocraterion planolites and skolithos although marine influenced strata as determined from detailed sedimentology and ichnology the study of trace fossils covers all four coal beds they are not uniformly high in total total sulfur content as might be expected rather they are extremely variable ranging from 1 9 dry basis total sulfur ash yields are also variable ranging from 6 2 54 3 dry basis it is probable that the origin of the very first sediments covering the peat as well as the amount of brackish water influence during peat accumulation were important factors in determining the total sulfur content of the resultant coal initial sedimentation of fresh water clays and silts may have acted as a barrier to downward percolation diffusion of sulfate bearing waters or may have served as a site for sulfide formation thereby keeping the total sulfur content of the underlying coal low if initial sedimentation was of brackish or marine origin as indicated by bioturbated laminae directly above the coal or if the peat was subject to frequent brackish or marine water influence during accumulation then sulfide generation might proceed unchecked resulting in high sulfur coal

multiple bench architecture and interpretations of original mire phases examples from the middle pennsylvanian of the central appalachian basin usa abstract coal seams often exhibit lateral and vertical variability in composition when sampled as a whole seam this variability is masked but if a seam is subdivided into correlateable components this variability can be tested and better understood herein an architectural approach is used to divide seams into intra seam components clastic splits and mineral partings as well as persistent fusain and durain layers can be used as intra seam bounding units to subdivide a seam into subdivisions called benches regional examination of lower and middle pennsylvanian age coal seams shows that many contain laterally persistent bounding surfaces that can be used to define multiple benches of coal within each seam inter bench analyses from some of the most extensively mined seams in the central appalachian basin show that individual benches often have different spatial and quality trends hence some component of whole seam variability is a function of changes in the relative contribution of these different benches to the seam as a whole many coal benches also exhibit intra bench variation in coal parameters intra bench variation can be analyzed in terms of parameters such as sulfur content and ash yield in order to address changes in coal quality for regional resource evaluation intra bench variation can also be analyzed in terms of a combination of palynologic petrographic and geochemical parameters termed compositional groups in order to better understand the development of the original mire systems compositional groups are defined by ranges of multiple criteria which are inferred to owe their origin to the mire type in which they formed vertical changes in compositional groups within coal benches can be used to infer paleo edaphic conditions during peat accumulation if seam thickness is a product of bench configuration and trends in compositional groups occur in benches then trends in quality can be marginally predicted based upon seam thickness and inferred bench architecture additionally changes in inter bench and intra bench thickness and compositional profiles can be used to infer original depositional controls such as paleotopography syndepositional structural movement and syndepositional clastic influx for more accurate reserve estimates

paleoecology of the springfield coal member desmoinesian illinois basin near the leslie cemetery paleochannel southwestern indiana abstract the springfield coal member carbondale group petersburg formation of indiana is split locally in warrick and gibson counties indiana by clastic rocks of the folsomville member carbondale group petersburg formation that represent the leslie cemetery paleochannel part of a large interconnected paleochannel system in the springfield coal bed this study incorporated analysis of miospore and megaspore assemblages coal petrography plant compression fossils and conodonts from the coal and clastic split to document changes in the swamp and its vegetation in response to the activity of the leslie cemetery paleochannel palynological and petrographic data indicate that environmental conditions and vegetation in the lower bench of coal near the leslie cemetery paleochannel were similar to those found in profiles through the coal bed at sites near the larger more extensive galatia paleochannel miospore floras of the high vitrinite lower bench of coal were dominated by tree fern miospores with those of lycopsids ranking second in abundance megaspore assemblages were dominated by lycopsid megaspores near the contacy between the lower bench of coal and clastic split medullosan prepollen increases in abundance and fusain bands are more common which may indicate the occurrence of fire either within or outside the swamp vegetation in the folsomville member and upper bench of coal differ markedly from that of the lower bench of coal plant megafossils from the folsomville member indicate dominance by pteridosperms and or lycopsids and folsomville member miospore assemblages are dominated by lycopsid miospores most typically found in mudstones including lycospora torquifer and higher than normal abundances of granasporites medius in the transition from clastic rocks of the folsomville member to the upper bench of coal miospores of ecotonal lycopsids paralycopodites reach their peak abundance pteridosperms dominate megafossil assemblages and inertinite levels are relatively high at higher levels of the upper bench of coal vitrinite levels are higher and miospore assemblages are dominated by lycopsid miospores typical of coal swamps lycospora granulata l pusilla the presence of conodonts in coalballs in the upper bench of coal and spirorbid worms in the split indicate that the paleoswamp may have received some marine or brackish water influence higher than normal salinity levels may explain the vegetational changes observed in the upper bench of coal near the leslie cemetery paleochannel

thrust ridge paleodepositional model for the upper freeport coal bed and associated clastic facies upper potomac coal field appalachian basin u s a abstract a blind thrust ridge model is proposed to explain the lack of coarse clastic material in the vast minable upper freeport coal bed uf this coal bed contains only fine elastic partings and is overlain by regionally extensive closely spaced channel belt deposits in the upper potomac coal field of the appalachian basin a blind thrust ridge may have formed a sediment trap and prevented c coarse fluvial sediments from entering the swamp during a period westphalian d when the thick upper freeport peat accumulated anticlinal thrust ridges and associated depressions may have existed uninterrupted for about 40 km parallel to the appalachian orogen sediment shed from the breached anticlinal ridges accumulated in the sediment trap and was carried out of the ends of the trap by streams that occupied the shear zone at the ends of the blind thrust ridge the extent parallel to the orogen of thick areally extensive uf is related to the length of the blind thrust ridge that in turn controlled the spacing of the river derived coarse clastic sediments that entered the main basin from the east the thrust plane eventually emerged to the surface of the blind thrust ridge and peat accumulation was terminated when the ridge became eroded and the sediment trapped behind it was released the peat was buried by abundant coarse clastic sediment which formed closely spaced channel belts and intervening flood basins this model has implications for widespread peat deposits now coal that developed in tropical regions a few hundred kilometers from the sea in a tectonically active foreland basin

a drowned lycopsid forest above the mahoning coal conemaugh group upper pennsylvanian in eastern ohio u s a over 800 mud filled casts of upright lycopsid tree stumps have been documented immediately above the mahoning coal in an active underground mine located in northwestern jefferson county ohio the coal body originated as a pod shaped peat body of 60 km2 trees are rooted at several levels within a thin 15 40 cm bone coal directly above the banded coal they extend upward up to 15 cm into overlying flat bedded carbonaceous mudstones that coarsen up from a maximum basal diameter of 1 2 m stumps taper upward to diameters no less than 0 3 m within single entry transects 6 m wide that total 2585 m in length stumps are randomly distributed the trees are identified as lepidodenrids on the basis of gross morphology external stem patterns and attached stigmarian root systems and provisionally as lepidophloios or lepidodendron by associated palynology of the enclosing matrix palynological analyses of incremental seam samples indicate an initial dominance of lycopsid spores with lepidodendracean affinities lycospora granulata from lepidophloios hallii replaced upwards by tree fern spores with a reoccurrence of lepidodendracean spores in the upper benches spores of sigillaria crassispora are abundant only at the base of the coal petrographic analyses indicate a prallel trend from vitrinite rich to inertinite and liptinite rich upward in the coal body all data indicate that the peat represented by the mahoning coal was drowned slowly during the earliest stages of inundation a lycopsid forest was re established only to be subsequently drowned

geochemical and palynological indicators of the paleoecology of the river gem coal bed whitley county kentucky abstract the river gem coal bed upper westphalian a was sampled at five sites in a single mine in whitley county kentucky previous petrographic and sulfur analyses of the collected interval samples showed that the coal bed could be divided into a basal low sulfur lithotype a middle high sulfur bone lithotype and an upper high sulfur lithotype at one location a high sulfur rider unit is present in this study we have conducted detailed palynological analyses on all of the interval samples and ash geochemistry on the upper high sulfur lithotype intervals and two of the basal high sulfur basal lithotype intervals geochemical analyses show that as and pb are generally high in the high sulfur upper lithotypes from all five sites carbonates having associated high levels of ba and sr are important in the ash geochemistry of the lower low sulfur lithotypes ga ge and w are enriched in the higher vitrinite lithotypes among the low sulfur samples the basal lithotype at each of two sites which was analyzed in detail is enriched in yttrium plus the lighter rare earth elements the basal low sulfur lithotypes are dominated by arboreous lycopod spores the middle low sulfur portion of the bed is dominated by herbaceous lycopsids densosporites at the base of the unit and becomes increasingly enriched in lycospora towards the top of the unit indicating that the peat forming environment became wetter the greatest arboreous lycopod spore abundances in the upper high sulfur portion the bed along with an overlying marine roof indicates that peat deposition was terminated by a marine inundation

influence of regional structure on the development and quality of the upper elkhorn no 2 coal bed eastern kentucky abstract the upper elkhorn no 2 coal bed middle pennsylvanian breathitt formation in eastern kentucky exhibits thickness and coal quality trends which suggest that peat deposition was contemporaneous with tectonism the coal thickens and has high vitrinite and low ash and sulfur content the belfry anticline in pike country t in the vicinity of the floyd country channel a basement trough in both cases other pennsylvanian coals exhibit similar trends suggesting that the penecontemporaneous tectonism persisted at least through a portion of the carboniferous

palynologic petrographic and geochemical characteristics of the manchester coal bed in eastern kentucky the manchester coal bed in eastern kentucky is the stratigraphically lowest coal in kentucky that is both laterally continuous and of consistent mineable thickness the manchester coal bed occurs in the lower part of the breathitt formation in an interval between the underlying corbin sandstone and the overlying betsie shale both of which are also aerially widespread units the manchester is early middle pennsylvanian in age and is equivalent with the middle morrowan of the eastern interior basin and the late westphalian a of western europe increment samples were collected from the western and eastern outcrop and mining areas of the eastern kentucky coal field and were analyzed palynologically petrographically and geochemically to compare and contrast the two areas in the western part of the eastern kentucky coal field the manchester coal bed is uniform in occurrence and composition the bed is consistently 0 61 0 92 m 2 3 ft thick and generally is devoid of inorganic partings palynologically the coal in this area is largely dominated by lycospora the dispersed spore of many of the large lycopsid trees e g lepidodendron and lepidophloios and to a lesser extent granasporites medius representing diaphorodendron and synchysidendron petrographically the coal contains high percentages of vitrinite macerals and correspondingly low percentages of liptinite and inertinite macerals most of the increments from this area studied are generally low in ash yield 5 and sulfur content 10 and occasionally sulfur 1 in the eastern part of the coal field the manchester coal bed is typically thicker 3 ft 1 m but usually occurs as a coal zone with intercalated coal beds and clastic units palynologically the coal in this area contains increased percentages of small lycopsid small seed ferns calamites and cordaites petrographically the coal is higher overall in liptinite and inertinite macerals ash yields in the eastern sample area are generally low 10 an exception being some high ash durain bands overall sulfur contents also are low typically 1 the western samples are interpreted as having formed in a well protected generally flooded mire a consistent water cover would provide a favorable environment for arboreous lycopsid growth and proliferation and also inhibit oxidation of the peat surface thus promoting the formation of a high vitrinite content coal the eastern samples are also interpreted as having formed in a mire that was well protected most of the time giving rise to thick sequences of low ash low sulfur coal intermittent inundation by extra swamp waters carrying sediment in this area resulted in the development of a multiple coal zone i e several peat forming events with intervening clastic deposition in contrast to a single peat forming event in the western area surficial peat exposure was more frequent in the eastern area which allowed for increased microbial degradation of the peat and subsequent formation of inertinite macerals upon conversion to bituminous coal this condition might also accelerate charring of the peat surface by wildfire