Home / Charcoal & Coal Petrology / Coalification

Douglas Allchin (1997): James Hutton and Coal. PDF file, Cadernos IG/UNICAMP, 7: 167-183.

! J. Alleon et al. (2017): Organic molecular heterogeneities can withstand diagenesis. Scientific Reports, 7.

Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL:
! Coal Research Tutorial. Go to: What is Coalification?
These expired links are available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! M. Bardet and A. Pournou (2017): NMR Studies of Fossilized Wood. Abstract, Annual Reports on NMR Spectroscopy, 90: 41–83. See also here and there (Google books).

D. Biello (2012), Scientific American: White Rot Fungi Slowed Coal Formation.

Carsten Büker, Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, Aachen: Palaeo-temperature indicators and their geologic interpretation. About vitrinite reflectance.
This expired link is available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! C.B. Cecil et al, (1985): Paleoclimate controls on late Paleozoic sedimentation and peat formation in the central Appalachian Basin (USA). In PDF, International Journal of Coal Geology, 5: 195-230.
See also here.
Note fig. 9: Interpreted depositional settings of the Upper Freeport coal bed and associated rocks.

C.B. Cecil (2001): The coalification phase of coal systems. Abstract, GSA Annual Meeting, November 5-8, 2001.
Still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

! John C. Crelling, Coal Research Center and Department of Geology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale: Petrographic Atlas of Coal and Carbon Compounds. The main purpose of this atlas is to show what coals, cokes, chars, carbons, graphites, and other natural and man-made carbonaceous materials look like under the optical microscope. All photomicrographs were taken in reflected white light with and without the use of a polarizer, an analyzer, and a retarder plate. In some cases the photomicrographs were taken in fluorescent light using ultra-violet illumination. Go to:
Coal Macerals Tutorial.
Snapshot provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

J.A. D´Angelo et al. (2012): Compression map, functional groups and fossilization: A chemometric approach (Pennsylvanian neuropteroid foliage, Canada). Abstract, International Journal of Coal Geology.

! J.W. de Leeuw et al. (2005): Biomacromolecules of algae and plants and their fossil analogues. Abstract, Tasks for vegetation science, 41: 209-233. See also here (in PDF).

! W.A. DiMichele and T.L. Phillips 1994): Paleobotanical and paleoecological constraints on models of peat formation in the Late Carboniferous of Euramerica. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 106: 39-90.
See also here.

Earth Science Australia (by Paul Michna where no other author is indicated): Coal. See also:
Coal: all you really wanted to know. The concept of coal rank.
The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! V. Fernández et al. (2016): Cuticle Structure in Relation to Chemical Composition: Re-assessing the Prevailing Model. Open access, Front. Plant Sci., 31.

! The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations: Industrial charcoal making: Chapter 2. Wood carbonisation and the products it yields.
"... Carbonisation is a particular form of that process in chemical technology called pyrolysis that is the breakdown of complex substances into simpler ones by heating. ..."
! Worth checking out: 2.5 The stages in charcoal formation.

M. Frese et al. (2017): Imaging of Jurassic fossils from the Talbragar Fish Bed using fluorescence, photoluminescence, and elemental and mineralogical mapping. PLoS ONE 12(6): e0179029.
"... Closer inspection of a plant leaf (Pentoxylon australicum White, 1981) establishes fluorescence as a useful tool for the visualisation of anatomical details that are difficult to see under normal light conditions".

Larissa Gammidge, Department of Geology, University of Newcastle, Australia: Coal: an introduction. Scroll down to: "Concept of Coal Rank". The rank of a coal refers to the degree of coalification endured by the organic matter. See also: ! Atlas of coal macerals.
These expired links are available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

GeoDZ (Lexikon Geografie, Lexikon Geologie, Lexikon Geodäsie, Topologie & Geowissenschaften, in German):
Inkohlung.
Inkohlungsgrad.
These links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

P.G. Hatcher et al. (1993): Reactions of Wood During Early Coalification, a Clue to the Structure of Vitrinite. PDF file.
Website outdated. The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! Patrick G. Hatcher and David J. Clifford (1997): The organic geochemistry of coal: from plant materials to coal. Abstract, Organic Geochemistry, 27: 251-257, 259-274.

D.G. Henry et al. (2019): Raman spectroscopy as a tool to determine the thermal maturity of organic matter: Application to sedimentary, metamorphic and structural geology. Free access, Earth-Science Reviews, 198.

International Journal of Coal Geology (Elsevier).
The International Journal of Coal Geology deals with fundamental and applied aspects of the geology, petrology, geochemistry and mineralogy of coal, oil/gas source rocks, and shales.
The scope of the journal encompasses basic research, computational and laboratory studies, technology development, and field studies.

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry: IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, Coalification. PDF file.

Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky:
! Heat, time, pressure, and coalification.

! Ann G. Kim (2010): 1.1. The Formation of Coal. PDF file, in: Coal and Peat Fires: A Global Perspective. Edited by Glenn B. Stracher, Anupma Prakash and Ellina V. Sokol (Elsevier).

O.C. Kopp and L.A. Harris (1988): Are alternative coalification paths possible for terrestrial coal? Abstract, Geology, 16: 844-847.

J.G. Mendonça Filho et al.: Organic Facies: Palynofacies and Organic Geochemistry Approaches. In PDF.

Water Quality and Irrigation Management, Montana State University: The Coalification Process.
This expired link is available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

C. Mouraux et al. (2022): Assessing the carbonisation temperatures recorded by ancient charcoals for δ13C-based palaeoclimate reconstruction. Open access, Scientific Reports, 12.

R.F. Sachsenhofer (1988): Das Inkohlungsbild ausgewählter alpiner Kohlenreviere: Zur Frage des Einflusses tektonischen Druckes auf die chemische Inkohlung. PDF file, in German.

E. Salmon et al. (2009): Early maturation processes in coal. Part 1: Pyrolysis mass balance and structural evolution of coalified wood from the Morwell Brown Coal seam. PDF file, Organic Geochemistry, 40: 500-509.

! J.D. Schiffbauer et al. (2012): Thermally-induced structural and chemical alteration of organic-walled microfossils: an experimental approach to understanding fossil preservation in metasediments. In PDF, Geobiology, 10: 402-423.
This expired link is now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
See also here.

! F.H. Schweingruber and A. Börner (2018): Fossilization, permineralization, coalification, carbonization and wet wood conservation. PDF file, pp. 183-192.
In: F.H. Schweingruber and A. Börner:
! The Plant Stem. A Microscopic Aspect. Open access!

The Science and Mathematics Teaching Center, University of Wyoming: Coal. Go to: Coalification.
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Michael Spann, School of Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Birmingham:
Coal.
Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.

P.M.V. Subbarao, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi:
Modeling of Fossil Fuel Formation. Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.

! P.F. van Bergen et al. (2004): Structural biomacromolecules in plants: what can be learnt from the fossil record. In: A.R. Hemsley and I. Poole (eds.): The Evolution of Plant Physiology. Provided by Google books.

! P.F. van Bergen et al. (1995): Resistant biomacromolecules in the fossil record. Abstract, Acta botanica neerlandica. See also here (in PDF).

! Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Carbonization. The term for the conversion of an organic substance into carbon. (Carbonization differs from coalification).
Inkohlung (in German).
Category:Coal.
Coal.
Maceral.
Lignite.

C.J. Williams et al. (2010): Fossil wood in coal-forming environments of the late Paleocene-early Eocene Chickaloon Formation. PDF file, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 295: 363-375.
Snapshot provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

H.-H. Xu et al. (2017): Unique growth strategy in the Earth’s first trees revealed in silicified fossil trunks from China. In PDF, PNAS, see also here

! E.L. Zodrow et al. (2010): Medullosalean fusain trunk from the roof rocks of a coal seam: Insight from FTIR and NMR (Pennsylvanian Sydney Coalfield, Canada). In PDF, International Journal of Coal Geology, 82: 16-124. Lycophyte stump in situ on PDF page 8.
See also here (abstract).

! Erwin L. Zodrow et al. (2009): Compression-cuticle relationship of seed ferns: Insights from liquid-solid states FTIR (Late Palaeozoic-Early Mesozoic, Canada-Spain-Argentina). Abstract, International Journal of Coal Geology, 79: 61-73.

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