Paleoenvironmental Studies
The types and amounts of organic material preserved in coal beds are indicators of the environmental processes that operated in the original peat mires. In conjunction with other types of analytical and geologic data, the organic content of coals can be used to infer moisture stress (frequency and degree of fluctuations in the water table), depositional environment (acidity, mechanical stress), types and relative amounts of original plant vegetation, tectonic environment (subsidence), and climate. The USGS Organic Petrology Laboratory is involved in a number of national and international projects which characterize paleoenvironments through organic petrology.
Photograph of the Paso Diablo open-pit coal mine in western Venezuela. The USGS is investigating tectonic controls on the depositional environments of Paso Diablo coal beds in collaboration with partners from the University of Central Venezuela, Caracas. Photograph by Manuel Martínez, University of Central Venezuela, Caracas.
Top of Page
|
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
