Palynology, organic petrology and geochemistry of the Bell coal bed in Western Kentucky, Eastern Interior (Illinois) Basin, USA

The Bell coal bed is one of the stratigraphically oldest coals (Atokan, Duckmantian) in the Illinois Basin that has been commercially mined and occurs near the Morrowan-Atokan boundary, which was a time of significant lithologic change in the basin. The Bell coal occurs as a series of discontinuous pods, in contrast to younger (Asturian) coals in the basin that are thicker and more extensive in occurrence. Thirty-two samples of coal and carbonaceous shale, collected from surface mine, outcrop, and drill core locations were analyzed geochemically, petrographically and palynologically to ascertain the origin of the Bell coal bed in western Kentucky. The Bell coal exhibits a great deal of variability in thickness and composition, both temporally and spatially. Based on ash yields, the Bell coal consists of intercalated layers of coal (≤25% ash), impure coal (>25 to <50% ash) and carbonaceous shale (≥50% ash). Sulfur contents vary significantly, from 0.2% to 10.0%. Petrographically, the Bell coal is mainly a high vitrinite coal (>80%, mmf), with telovitrinite occurring more frequently than detrovitrinite and gelovitrinite. Certain layers, however, contain elevated amounts of liptinite and inertinite. Among the inertinite macerals, examples of both fire (e.g., fusinite) and degradation (e.g., macrinite) origin are evident. Samples with elevated amounts of inertinite are commonly, though not exclusively, high in ash, indicating that some of the inertinite may be of allochthonous origin. Palynologically, the Bell coal is dominated by arborescent lycopod spores (avg. >70%), occurring primarily as Lycospora, with some samples containing increased proportions of spores and pollen from other Pennsylvanian plant groups. Samples with more heterogenous palynofloras commonly have elevated ash yields, indicating that some portion of the assemblages may be also of allochthonous origin. Collectively, the Bell coal is interpreted to have formed from a series of small, disconnected paleomires that were planar and topogenous with paleotopography having an influence on peat development. A planar, topogenous origin helps to explain the highly variable ash yields and sulfur contents. Accumulating peat, principally from arborescent lycopod source material, was mainly well-preserved, but punctuated with intervals marked by sediment influx, the development of more heterogeneous palynofloras and degradation and oxidation of the surficial peat by both biologic (decay) and abiotic (fire) processes.