Gondwana coals

These Permian coals, together with counterparts in India, South Africa, Antarctica and South America, are referred to as Gondwana coals after the hypothetical super-continent which subsequently broke up into the continents and sub-continents mentioned above (5). ... 

Arsenic is transported by the River Ganges and its tributaries from the Gondwana coal seams in the Rajmahal trap area west of the basin. The arsenic concentration of the coal is as high as 200 mg kg-1 (Saha, 1991). 

McElwain JC, Mitchell FJG, Jones MB (1995) Relationship of stomatal density and index of Salix cinerea to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations in the Holocene. The Holocene 5 216-219 McElwain JC, Wade-Murphy J, Hesselbo SP (2005) Changes in carbon dioxide during an oceanic anoxic event linked to intrusion into Gondwana coals. Nature 435 479-482 Meyer HW (1992) Lapse rates and other variables applied to estimating paleoaltitudes from fossil floras. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 99 71-99... 

Disnar J.R., Harouna M. (1994) Biological origin of tetracyclic diterpanes, ft-alkanes and other biomarkers found in Lower Carboniferous Gondwana coals (Niger). Org. Geochem. 21, 143—52. 

Schopf JM (1982) Forms and facies of Veitebraria in relation to Gondwana coal. In Turner MD, Splettstoesser JF (eds) Geology of the Central Transantarctic Mountains. Antarctic Research Series, vol. 36. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, pp 37-62... 

Ryskin G (2003) Methane-driven oceanic eruptions and mass extinction. Geology 31(9) 741—744 Sanyal SP, Subramanian CS (1979) Petrology of Gondwana coals of India A comparative study. In Laskar B, Raja Rao CS (eds) Fomth International Gondwana Symposium Papers 1 305-315... 

There are certainly lithotypes that can be handpicked from European and American coals that are relatively rich in fusinite and semifusinite. However, it is perhaps significant that the mean content of total fusinite + semifusinite in 697 coal samples in the Penn State/DOE Data Base is 8.9%. On the other hand, the content of inertinite macerals in the Permian coals of Gondwana-land is notoriously high and much of this inertinite material consists of semifusinite (5,26,33,34), the concentration of which can be as high as 50% in the whole seam. 

Comparison of the Chirmiri Coals of Gondwana Age with Paleozoic Coals from Other Areas... 

The Beacon rocks in the Transantarctic Mountains attract attention because they are the products of geological processes that occurred in Gondwana during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. In addition, they contain fossilized remains of plants and animals that inhabited the landscape at this time in history of the Earth. The Beacon rocks also contain coal... 

The tillites are overlain by sandstones, siltstones, and shale including substantial seams of bituminous coal. The presence of abundant plant fossils (e.g., Glossopteris, Gangamopteris, Diocroidium, etc.) as well as petrified tree trunks and coalified plant debris required temperate and humid climatic conditions that were radically different fi om the cold and dry climate that prevails in the Transantarctic Mountains at the present time. During this time, Gondwana was also inhabited by aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates such as fish, amphibians, and reptiles all of which are represented in the fossil record of the Transantarctic Mountains. 

Ghosh PK (1995) The environment of coal formation in the peninsular Gondwana basins of India. In Campbell KSW (ed) Gondwana geology. Australian National University Press, Canberra, A.C.T., pp 221-231... 

ABSTRACT Located 80 m below the State Highway at Rangit River-Rothak Nala confluence, the back slope of Rangit-IV surface powerhouse faced severe stability problems during project execution. The site lies in Permo-Carboniferous Gondwana sandstone and shale with coal. Exploration revealed fresh bedrock at 20 m depth. 

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