DEPOSITIONAL MODELLING

The paleoenvironment for coal formation is ancient freshwater or brackish-water swamps.

Freshwater swamps typically occupy inland areas. Brackish-water swamps are near-
marine environments as in lagoons, estuaries, and low-lying coastal plains or deltas.
Delta plains are prime locations for the formation of coal deposits. Often in a coal-bearing
sequence one is able to recognize the broad transitions from continental to delta plain
and shallow marine rocks. Interpretations from geophysical logs often aid the recognition
of these transitional paleoenvironments. Characteristics of the various shallow-water sub-
environments and associated lithofacies are summarized. Organic materials that have
escaped oxidation during the carbon cycle are the key components of coal. Plant
materials partially decompose in swampy, oxygen-deficient environments, and
accumulate in time to form peat. These peat accumulations may subsequently be
inundated by a transgressive cycle (rise of sea level or relative land subsidence) and be
covered by sand, silt, clay, and finally carbonate. Indeed, Hemingway (1968) pointed to
the relative asymmetry of coal-bearing sequences and to the fact that they occupy a
threshold position between fully terrestrial deposits (coal swamps) on the one hand and
completely marine incursions on the other