Eocene Yegua Formation (Claiborne group) and Jackson group lignite deposits of Texas

AAPG Studies in Geology -14
By: , and 
Edited by: Peter D. WarwickAlexander K. KarlsenMatthew D. Merrill, and Brett J. Valentine

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Abstract

The lignite deposits within the upper Eocene Yegua Formation (Claiborne Group) and the overlying Jackson Group are among the coal resources that were not quantitatively assessed as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA) program in the Gulf Coastal Plain coal province. In the past, these lignite-bearing stratigraphic units often have been evaluated together because of their geographic and stratigraphic proximity (Fisher, 1963; Kaiser, 1974; Kaiser et al., 1980; Jackson and Garner, 1982; Kaiser, 1996) (Figures 1, 2). The term “Yegua-Jackson trend“ is used informally herein for the lignite-bearing outcrops of these Late Eocene deposits in Texas. Lignite beds in the Yegua-Jackson trend generally are higher both in ash yield and sulfur content than those of the underlying Wilcox Group (Figure 2). Recent studies (Senkayi et al., 1987; Ruppert et al., 1994; Warwick et al., 1996, 1997) have shown that some lignite beds within the Yegua-Jackson trend contain partings of volcanic ash and host elevated levels of trace elements that have been identified as potentially hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in the United States Clean Air Amendments of 1990. Lignite beds within the Yegua Formation are thin (less than or equal to 6 ft) and laterally discontinuous in comparison with most Wilcox Group deposits (Ayers, 1989a); in contrast, the Jackson Group lignite beds range up to 12 ft in total thickness and are relatively continuous laterally, extending nearly 32 mi along strike.

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Publication type Book chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Title Eocene Yegua Formation (Claiborne group) and Jackson group lignite deposits of Texas
Series title AAPG Studies in Geology
Chapter 14
Volume 62
Year Published 2011
Language English
Publisher American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Contributing office(s) Eastern Energy Resources Science Center
Description 12 p.
Larger Work Type Book
Larger Work Subtype Monograph
Larger Work Title Geologic assessment of coal in the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain
First page 286
Last page 297
Country United States
State Texas
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