Coal petrology,sedimentology and depositional environment of the Parvadeh coais in the Upper Triassic,Tabas Block of Central-East Iran

Peat forming environment strongly influences the economic value of any coal seam and coal-bearing strata.Hence,pal-aeoenvironmental studies provide important information for coal resource exploration.In this context,detailed studies on selected coals from the Parvadeh Area,Iran,were conducted using sedimentology,coal petrology,X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray analyzer(SEM-EDX),and proximate analysis.The sedi-mentary facies above and below the coal seams are mainly marine or marine-influenced facies,supporting that the coal-forming mires in the Parvadeh Area developed in a paralic environment,where the base level must be closely related to sea level.Sulfur contents are moderate to high and mark the influence of brackish/marine water,especially during transgres-sion after peat growth in a lower delta plain environment.The peat-forming mires extended on coastal/delta plain lobes.The lower delta plain/coastal plain coals are characterized by lateral continuity and substantial thickness,whereas few coals possibly representing the upper delta plain are thin and more discontinuous.The detrital nature and composition of the numerous partings and the overall high ash yield in the coal seams indicate an active tectonic area with high rates of creation of accommodation space over peat growth.Coal petrology and coal facies analysis exhibits a permanently high water table within a forest swamp and mostly rheotrophic conditions,sometimes with connection to the seawater.Accord-ing to paleoenvironmental reconstructions,it seems that coal layers may be thicker,with less sulfur(pyrite),but more clastic minerals and partings toward the western part of the area.Although these coal seams presently have low economic potential for the mining operation,partly due to great depth,this humic,high-volatile to medium-volatile bituminous coal may be suitable for exploration of coal bed methane resources.

Wildfire events at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary of the Tabas Basin,Central Iran

This paper presents organic geochemical evidence pointing to the occurrence of wildfire events at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in Central Iran.The studied outcrop section(the Kamarmacheh Kuh section)is comprised of the Upper Triassic Nayband Formation which passes conformably into the Lower Jurassic Ab-e-Haji Formation with no sharp boundary.Organic petrographical studies reveal a higher concentration of semi-fusinite macerals and microscopic charcoal at the boundary between studied formations.This observation can be an evidence for widespread wildfire events at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary of the studied area.Following these fires,vast areas of land were exposed for erosion and large volumes of clastic sediments were provided due to increased run-off.This agrees well with previous sedimentological and stratigraphical studies suggesting a major change in the depositional conditions from marine to non-marine at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary of the Tabas Basin.These findings can have important implications about paleo-depositional settings of the studied formations and the nature of the associated organic matter.