Paleocene Coal Basins

Introduction

The study of Tertiary coal beds that formed in the Paleocene Epoch between 65 million and 55 million years ago in the western United States requires many scientific disciplines to focus on how much high-quality coal is available. The Tertiary Coal Basins team includes scientists in stratigraphy, sedimentology, palynology, structural geology, and coal geochemistry. The objectives of this multidisciplinary study are to assess the coal resources of the region, to produce a broad view of the evolution of Paleocene coals in the Rocky Mountains and Northern Great Plains regions, and to determine where the highest quality coals are located. This information will serve as a guide for future coal development activity in the regions.

The Clean Air Act with its 1990 amendments has created renewed interest in these coals because much of the coal in these regions is relatively easy to mine and contains amounts of potentially hazardous chemical elements that are generally below anticipated threshold values to be set by the Environmental Protection Agency. As a result of this study, significant advances have been made in understanding the evolution of coal basins and how geological history affected coal distribution, coal rank, and concentrations of potentially hazardous chemical elements. By assembling information and data on the various aspects of coal formation, the Tertiary Coal Basins team is able to determine the approximate distribution of compliant coals in the western United States. This is an important step because most of the coals that are economic, environmentally clean, and easy to mine are publicly owned.

Tertiary Coal basins team members (left to right):

Romeo M. Flores, Douglas J. Nichols, William J. Perry, Jr., Margaret S. Ellis, Stephen B. Roberts, and Gary D. Stricker.

Paleocene Coal Basins

Introduction

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