GEOL 105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Hylonomus, Cyclothems, Anthracite

• School: College of Charleston
• Department: Geology and Environmental Geosciences
• Course: GEOL 105
• Professor: Buetel

Document Summary

Rising and falling sea-level in sequences called cyclothems creates massive coastal swamps (trees) that are buried in sediment. Like swamps today, the vast amounts of vegetation result in anoxia in the sediment and shallow waters so when stuff dies it doesn"t decompose very well and is preserved. As peat is buried further and subject to more heat and pressure it pushes more and more of the water out (including more of the other ingredients). Eventually turns into coal different grades of coal produce different amounts of co2 and other pollutants. Peat lignite subbituminous bituminous anthracite. Coal (especially low grade coal) contains a lot of so2. So2 is easily converted to sulfuric acid. acid rain decimated lakes in. Massive coal swamps, alternating glacial and interglacial periods, cooling and heating, drying and wet. Eventually we see signs of evolution to reptiles the first fossil was found in the remains of tree stumps in coal.