Inertinite macerals in the anthracite-rank Campanian Menefee Formation coal from the Cerrillos coalfield, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, show a range of forms consistent with forms found in lower-rank ...Mesozoic and younger coals. In particular, funginite is recognized in these anthracites, as is macrinite, and fusinite formed following microbial degradation. The macrinite in the Menefee coal has forms that are consistent with fungal and/or bacterial degradation of wood, followed by the ingestion of the latter material by insects or other animals, the regurgitation or excretion of the partially digested material, and the coprophagous recycling of the latter product.
•Cretaceous New Mexico anthracite was studied.•Macrinite forms similar to other K and younger coals were observed.•Funginite was recognized among macerals.
Macrinite forms in Pennsylvanian coals Hower, James C.; Misz-Keenan, Magdalena; O'Keefe, Jennifer M.K. ...
International journal of coal geology,
09/2013, Letnik:
116-117
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Fungi are not as evident in Pennsylvanian coals as in younger Mesozoic or Cenozoic coals, however macerals formed through the interaction of fungi with woody and herbaceous precursors do occur. One ...example of this is in some forms of the maceral macrinite. This study analyzes macrinite forms from geographically distinct Pennsylvanian coals. The macrinite observed in this study is characterized by the presence of inclusions of other detrital macerals, indicative of ingestion and excretion, similar to that documented in macrinite of younger coals. This suggests that, while not all ecologic niches in the Pennsylvanian were filled in the same manner as in younger settings, similar processes (implying similar types of interactions between fungi, bacteria, and fauna) were producing similar products.
•Macrinite is the product of fungal and bacterial degradation.•Not all modern fungal forms were present throughout Pennsylvania.•Macrinite similar to that in younger coals is in Pennsylvanian coals.•Similar processes were underway, despite the lack of more modern fungus.
This paper reports the geochemical and mineralogical compositions of the Late Permian No. 25 Coal (semi-anthracite) and its host rocks (roof and floor strata) from the Guxu (Gulin–Xuyong) Coalfield, ...Sichuan Province, China. The coal is characterized by medium-sulfur content (average 2.73%) and has an average ash yield of 20.95%. In contrast to other Late Permian coals from southwestern China that are enriched in Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, and Cu, the No. 25 coal does not contain an abundance of these transition elements but is rich in lithophile elements Be, Y, Nb, Zr, Hf, and U. The elevated concentrations of trace elements in the No. 25 Coal were probably derived from the felsic–intermediate rocks at the top of the Emeishan basalt sequence, rather than from the Emeishan mafic basalts.
The floor strata of the No. 25 Coal can be divided into two sub-sections. The upper sub-section of the sequence immediately below the No. 25 Coal consists of material with a felsic–intermediate composition probably derived from terrigenous sources and the lower sub-section is composed of mafic tuff. The terrigenous mineral matter in the No. 25 coal appears to have the same sediment-source region as the upper sub-section of the floor strata, based on their similar geochemical compositions. The roof strata of the No. 25 Coal are more quartzose, and were probably derived from a different sediment-source region. The mineral matter in the coal is dominated by kaolinite and, to a lesser extent, calcite and pyrite; the roof and floor strata each have quite different mineralogy, with kaolinite dominant in the latter and illite, kaolinite and quartz in the former; pyrite contents are variable both in the coal and in the host rocks. The floor strata and the coal have been affected by hydrothermal solutions, leading to the enrichment of rare earth elements and yttrium (REY), Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, and U. The REY in the coal and floor strata, as well as the Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, and U in the floor strata, represent potentially economic rare metal resources.
•Lithophile elements Be, Y, Nb, Zr, Hf, and U are enriched in the Guxu coal.•The terrigenous-source rocks for the coal are mainly of felsic–intermediate composition.•The lower part of the floor strata are a mafic tuff.•The terrigenous-source region for the upper part of the floor rock has a felsic–intermediate composition.•The coal and the floor strata are potential sources of rare metals.
The petrological, geochemical, and mineralogical compositions of the coal-hosted Jurassic uranium ore deposit in the Yili Basin of Xinjiang province, northwestern China, were investigated using ...optical microscopy and field emission-scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer, as well as X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The Yili coal is of high volatile C/B bituminous rank (0.51–0.59% vitrinite reflectance) and has a medium sulfur content (1.32% on average). Fusinite and semifusinite generally dominate the maceral assemblage, which exhibits forms suggesting fire-driven formation of those macerals together with forms suggesting degradation of wood followed by burning. The Yili coals are characterized by high concentrations of U (up to 7207μg/g), Se (up to 253μg/g), Mo (1248μg/g), and Re (up to 34μg/g), as well as As (up to 234μg/g) and Hg (up to 3858ng/g). Relative to the upper continental crust, the rare earth elements (REEs) in the coals are characterized by heavy or/and medium REE enrichment. The minerals in the Yili coals are mainly quartz, kaolinite, illite and illite/smectite, as well as, to a lesser extent, K-feldspar, chlorite, pyrite, and trace amounts of calcite, dolomite, amphibole, millerite, chalcopyrite, cattierite, siegenite, ferroselite, krutaite, eskebornite, pitchblende, coffinite, silicorhabdophane, and zircon. The enrichment and modes of occurrence of the trace elements, and also of the minerals in the coal, are attributed to derivation from a sediment source region of felsic and intermediate petrological composition, and to two different later-stage solutions (a U–Se–Mo–Re rich infiltrational and a Hg–As-rich exfiltrational volcanogenic solution). The main elements with high enrichment factors, U, Se, As, and Hg, overall exhibit a mixed organic–inorganic affinity. The uranium minerals, pitchblende and coffinite, occur as cavity-fillings in structured inertinite macerals. Selenium, As, and Hg in high-pyrite samples mainly show a sulfide affinity.
•The coal in the Yili Basin U deposit is also enriched in U, Se, Mo, and Re.•Inorganic matter in the coal is from detrital input and epigenetic solutions.•Porous inertinite-rich coal provided channels for migration of U-solutions.•Porous inertinite-rich coal acted as a reductant for U-mineral precipitation.•A U-enrichment model has been proposed for this coal-hosted U deposit.
Coal associated with site 31CR314, Queen Anne's Revenge/La Concorde (1718) was investigated to identify a possible source. The coal ranges from low volatile bituminous, through anthracite, to ...meta-anthracite. Although the eastern US anthracite sources were not known at that time, several sources, including coalfields in Ireland and Portugal, match some of the coal ranks from the shipwreck. The wreck lies near Beaufort, North Carolina, where a coaling station was built by the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Pennsylvania anthracite was an important resource by the 1860s, making it a logical source of the coal from site 31CR314.
Macrinite forms in Pennsylvanian coals HOWER, James C; MISZ-KEENAN, Magdalena; O'KEEFE, Jennifer M. K ...
International journal of coal geology,
2013, Letnik:
116-17
Journal Article
The Truman Shepherd coal mine fire, Floyd and Knott counties, Kentucky, has been the subject of several field investigations over the last four years. During July and November 2011 and January 2012 ...field investigations, we measured gas emissions, collected minerals, and characterized the nature of the fire. New vents opened over the course of the study and have continued to open since January 2012, coincident with the eastward advance of the fire. This is the first study of Kentucky coal fires where the original vents were able to be studied in addition to new vents on each subsequent trip. Neoformed minerals associated with the vents are primarily ammonium sulfates and ammonium chlorides with minor zeolites. BTEX emissions, especially benzene, vary considerably, ranging from relatively low to comparable to those from very large fires, such as the Ankney coal fire in Wyoming. Vent emission data collected displays a general trend of decreasing carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions from July through January. The projected annual greenhouse gas and mercury emissions from the fire are 65.69t of CO2, 4.51t of CO, 5.73t of CH4, and 1.667kg Hg. The November 2011 CO/CO2 ratios are indicative of more complete combustion than at any other time during the study, possibly indicative of decreased moisture in the system.
•The Truman Shepherd coal fire was studied after attempt to extinguish fire.•Gas emissions and minerals were collected and analyzed.•The number of vents increased over the six-month study.•Intensity of emissions varied between the vents.•Minerals were ammonium sulfates and ammonium chlorides.
The Deepwater Horizon(DWH) oil spill was unprecedented in extent and duration, and affected marine natural resources, including sea turtles, throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico. Consequently, US ...federal and state Trustees documented and quantified oil exposure and resulting injuries to sea turtles under the DWH Natural Resource Damage Assessment. At-sea rescue operations focused on surface-pelagic juvenile sea turtles, which were especially at risk to oil exposure within oceanic convergence zones, and provided direct observations of the degree that turtles in this young life stage were exposed to DWH oil. In contrast, locations of larger neritic juvenile and adult turtles were documented during aerial surveys, but because these turtles were not captured, their oiling status could not be directly evaluated. Both the rescue operations and aerial surveys were able to observe only a small fraction of sea turtles within the vast spill footprint. We developed a spatio-temporally explicit approach that used direct observations of oiled surface-pelagic juvenile sea turtles and satellite-derived surface oil distributions to statistically estimate the probabilities of oil exposure for all sea turtles that were present within the area of the DWH spill, but whose oiling status was unknown. Our results enabled an expansion of exposure and injury quantification across the entire DWH spill area and period. This approach was conceptually straightforward and used common geospatial and statistical techniques, making it applicable to other situations in which the full extent of oil exposure for marine natural resources must be estimated from an incomplete sample.
The Lotts Creek coal mine fire is burning in abandoned works of the Pennsylvanian Hazard No. 9 coal, Perry County, Kentucky. Over the few months separating sampling trips, the fire showed a definite ...migration to the south. Several vents sampled on the first trip were extinct on the second trip. The flux of major gases varies from 1100 to 440,000mg/s/m2 CO2 and <100 to 12,000mg/s/m2 CO, with the gas temperature being one of the principal drivers of the emissions variations; the higher the temperature, the more CO2 produced. Mercury, also showing wide variation, from 45 to 740ng/s/m2, could not be measured at all vents due to temperature limitations inherent in the instrument. In addition to CO2, CO, and Hg, a number of gases among the volatile aliphatic and volatile aromatic compounds are emitted in potentially dangerous amounts.
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