Magnitude and timing of peat-to-coal compaction

Nadon, Gregory C.

doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<0727:matopt>2.3.co;2

Cited by 77 publications

(38 citation statements)

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“…6, 8B) requires the sustained accumulation of peat given peat-to-coal compaction ratios of between 1.2-to-2:1 (Nadon, 1998) and10:1 (McCabe, 1984). This indicates the episodic abandonment of broad parts of the delta plain permitting the prolific formation of peat-forming mires (cf.…”

Section: Cyclothem-scale (Sequences)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sequence stratigraphy and onlap history of the Donets Basin, Ukraine: Insight into Carboniferous icehouse dynamics

Eros

Montañez

Osleger

et al. 2012

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

151

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The degree to which Permo-Carboniferous cyclothemic successions archive evidence for longterm variations in ice volume during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age is insufficiently resolved. Here we develop the sequence stratigraphy and onlap-offlap history for a 33-my interval of the Carboniferous using the U-Pb calibrated succession of the Donets Basin, Ukraine, in order to assess the relationship between sea-level, high-latitude changes in glacial extent, and climate. Integrated subsurface and outcrop data permit meter-scale correlation of 242 biostratigraphically constrained limestones and coals, and in turn individual cyclothems, across ~250 km of the Donets Basin. Rapid uniform subsidence and basinwide continuity of marker beds indicate Pennsylvanian deposition under relatively stable tectonic conditions. Three scales of sequences (avg. durations of ~140 ky, ~480 ky and 1.6 my) are recognized on the basis of stratigraphic stacking patterns and basinwide architecture of marine to terrestrial facies assemblages.The hierarchy of sequences and the geographic and stratigraphic positions of shifts in base-level sensitive facies across the Donets ramp permit the construction of an onlap-offlap history at a sub-400 ky scale. Major sea-level lowstands occur across the mid-Carboniferous boundary and during the early Moscovian. These lowstands coincide with glacial maxima inferred from highlatitude glacigenic deposits. The middle to late Pennsylvanian is characterized by a stepwise onlap, culminating in an earliest Gzhelian highstand, suggesting contraction of Carboniferous ice sheets prior to the initiation of Early Permian glaciation.The stratigraphic position of climate sensitive facies within individual Donets cyclothems indicates a turnover from seasonal sub-humid or semi-arid climate to everwet conditions during the late lowstand and maximum ice sheet accumulation. Comparison of the stratigraphic and aerial distribution of coals and evaporites in the Donets Basin with the onlap-offlap history further indicates everwet conditions during lowstands and inferred glacial maxima and drier climate during onlap and inferred ice sheet contraction at the intermediate (~0.8 to 1.6 my) and long (10 6 yr) time-scales. Taken together, the relationship between inferred climate and glacioeustasy suggests a likely teleconnection between high-latitude ice sheet behavior and low-latitude atmospheric dynamics.

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Section: Cyclothem-scale (Sequences)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sequence stratigraphy and onlap history of the Donets Basin, Ukraine: Insight into Carboniferous icehouse dynamics

Eros

Montañez

Osleger

et al. 2012

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

151

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In woody permineralized specimens, secondary xylem of typically 10-30 mm radius (Anderson, 1954;Cichan and Taylor, 1983;Wang et al, 2006) has been reported, requiring compaction of perhaps 20:1 or more to account for the thinness of the rinds observed on most calamitalean casts. Were this to have been the case, the great differences in compaction ratios between organic material and siliciclastic sediment must be considered (Nadon, 1998). Plant material compacts between 10:1 and 80:1, by some estimates (e.g., Winston, 1986), whereas the compaction ratios of siliciclastic sediment are approximately 2: 1 for siltstone and close to zero for sandstone, both of which commonly entomb and cast calamitalean stems.…”

Section: Relationship Of Upright Calamitaleans To Sedimentary Layersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Calamitalean “pith casts” reconsidered

DiMichele

Falcon-Lang

2012

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

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“…One of the results of coalification is compaction of the peat. Compaction ratios of peat to bituminous coal generally range from 20:1 to 7:1 (Stach et al, 1982), although the degree of compaction may be minimal for some coals, or at least may have happened at or near the surface, prior to deep burial (Nadon, 1998). At a 10:1 compaction ratio, which is commonly used for Carboniferous coals, a 10-m-thick peat would be required to produce 1 m of bituminous coal.…”

Section: Coalificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Desmoinesian coal beds of the Eastern Interior and surrounding basins: The largest tropical peat mires in Earth history

Greb¹,

Andrews²,

Eble³

et al. 2003

Extreme Depositional Environments: Mega End Members in Geologic Time

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The Colchester, Springfield, and Herrin Coals of the Eastern Interior Basin are some of the most extensive coal beds in North America, if not the world. The Colchester covers an area of more than 100,000 km^, the Springfield covers 73,500-81,000 km^, and the Herrin spans 73,900 km^. Each has correlatives in the Western Interior Basin, such that their entire regional extent varies from 116,000 km^to 200,000 km^. Correlatives in the Appalachian Basin may indicate an even more widespread area of Desmoinesian peatland development, although possibly sUghtly younger in age. The Colchester Coal is thin, but the Springfield and Herrin Coals reach thicknesses in excess of 3 m.High ash yields, dominance of vitrinite macerals, and abundant lycopsids suggest that these Desmoinesian coals were deposited in topogenous (groundwater fed) to soligenous (mixed-water source) mires. The only modern mire complexes that are as widespread are northern-latitude raised-bog mires, but Desmoinesian Midcontinent paleomires were topogenous and accumulated within 10° of the paleo-equator.The extent and thickness of Desmoinesian paleomires resulted from the coincidence of prime peat-forming factors, including a seasonally wet paleoclimate; cyclothemic transgressions and base-level rise above extensive, low-relief cratonic areas floored by vast, impermeable paleosols; broad floodplains along large rivers with a groundwater table high enough to hydrologically link peatlands and keep them wet; low, relatively uniform rates of tectonic subsidence; and accumulation in a basin surrounded by low relief, which led to minimal sediment input.

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Magnitude and timing of peat-to-coal compaction

Cited by 77 publications

References 0 publications

Sequence stratigraphy and onlap history of the Donets Basin, Ukraine: Insight into Carboniferous icehouse dynamics

Sequence stratigraphy and onlap history of the Donets Basin, Ukraine: Insight into Carboniferous icehouse dynamics

Calamitalean “pith casts” reconsidered

Desmoinesian coal beds of the Eastern Interior and surrounding basins: The largest tropical peat mires in Earth history

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