Thermal maturity patterns in Pennsylvanian coal-bearing rocks in Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania
Professional Paper
1708-F.2
Links
- Document: Report (226 KB pdf)
- Plates:
- Larger Work: This publication is Chapter F.2 of Coal and petroleum resources in the Appalachian basin: distribution, geologic framework, and geochemical character
- Appendix: Appendix 1 (xlsx)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Thermal maturation patterns of Pennsylvanian strata in the Appalachian basin and part of the Black Warrior basin were determined by compiling previously published and unpublished percent-vitrinite-reflectance (%R0) measurements and preparing isograd maps on the basis of the measurements. The isograd values range from 0.6 %R0 in Ohio and the western side of the Eastern Kentucky coal field to 5.5 %R0 in the Southern field in the Pennsylvania Anthracite region, Schuylkill County, Pa. The vitrinite-reflectance values correspond to the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM) coal-rank classes of high-volatile C bituminous to meta-anthracite, respectively. In general, the isograds show that thermal maturity patterns of Pennsylvanian coals within the Appalachian basin generally decrease from east to west. In the Black Warrior basin of Alabama, the isograds show a circular pattern with the highest values (greater than 1.6 %R0) centered in Jefferson County, Ala. Most of the observed patterns can be explained by variations in the depth of burial, variations in geothermal gradient, or a combination of both; however, there are at least four areas of higher ranking coal in the Appalachian basin that are difficult to explain by these two processes alone: (1) a set of west- to northwest-trending salients centered in Somerset, Cambria, and Fayette Counties, Pa.; (2) an elliptically shaped, northeast-trending area centered in southern West Virginia and western Virginia; (3) the Pennsylvania Anthracite region in eastern Pennsylvania; and (4) the eastern part of the Black Warrior coal field in Alabama. The areas of high-ranking coal in southwestern Pennsylvania, the Black Warrior coal field, and the Pennsylvania Anthracite region are interpreted here to represent areas of higher paleo-heat flow related to syntectonic movement of hot fluids towards the foreland associated with Alleghanian deformation. In addition to the higher heat flow from these fluids, the Pennsylvania Anthracite region also was buried more deeply than other parts of the Appalachian basin. The area of high rank coal in southwestern Virginia probably was controlled primarily by overburden thickness, but may also have been influenced by higher geothermal gradients.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Thermal maturity patterns in Pennsylvanian coal-bearing rocks in Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, and Pennsylvania |
| Series title | Professional Paper |
| Series number | 1708 |
| Chapter | F.2 |
| DOI | 10.3133/pp1708F.2 |
| Year Published | 2014 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Eastern Energy Resources Science Center |
| Description | Report: iv, 12 p.; Figures 1-9; Appendix 1 |
| Larger Work Type | Report |
| Larger Work Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Larger Work Title | Coal and petroleum resources in the Appalachian basin: distribution, geologic framework, and geochemical character (Professional Paper 1708) |
| Country | United States |
| Other Geospatial | Appalacian basin |
| Online Only (Y/N) | Y |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | Y |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |