Interior Province

Recent work has suggested that the coals of the Illinois Basin were never buried deeper than about 1500 m. (44), compared with an estimated 3000 m. or more for the coals of western Pennsylvania in the Eastern province. Presumably as a consequence, the coals of the Interior province tend to show low values of vitrinite reflectance and high values of moisture-holding capacity relative to coals of other areas of apparently similar rank (45). 

The relevance of the remarks on sulfur content is that, for reasons explained above, it is usually a valid index of the salinity of the environments of deposition. It was remarked earlier that the Eastern and Interior provinces have experienced different temperature/pressure/time histories. It should be added that coals of the Rocky Mountain, Pacific and Alaskan provinces most probably experienced yet further sets of conditions of metamorphism a locally increased geothermal gradient that produced relatively high temperatures at relatively low depths of burial and hence at relatively low pressures of overburden. 

Jhe distribution of beryllium, boron, titanium, vanadium, chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, gallium, germanium, tin, molybdenum, yttrium, and lanthanum in the principal coal-producing beds of the Interior Province has been studied by the U. S. Geological Survey. Data, methods of sampling, and analyses are discussed by Zubovic and others (II, 12). This chapter discusses the occurrence of 13 of these elements with respect to geological and geochemical environments of coal deposition and chemical properties of the elements. Zinc and tin are not included in this study because they were detected in only a few samples. 

Figure 1. Distribution of the samples in the Interior Province. Solid line indicates extent of Pennsylvania sediments containing coal beds arrows indicate sedimentary transport directions of basal Pennsylvanian sandstones taken from Potter ana Siever (6)...

The occurrence of cleat-filling sphalerite and galena in the Interior Province coals is a classic example of how epigentic mineralization can affect trace element content (19). Dramatic intra- and interseam variations are common. Cobb et al. (20) report that zinc content from benches of the Herrin (No. 6) coal varied from 20 to 14,900 ppm. 

It might be expected that coals high in pyrite (e.g., bituminous) would be more reactive than coals that have lower pyrite contents (e.g., subbituminous and lignites). Twenty coals of various ranks were tested by Gulf under SRC-II process conditions 30 wt. percent coal, 440-465°C, 1800-2250 psia H2, one-hr residence time. Coals which processed well had pyritic sulfur or iron contents greater than 1.5%, and were generally Eastern and Interior Province bituminous coals ( 0 ). C5 oil yields (875°F") ranged from 30-35% for coals with pyritic sulfur contents of 1.0 to 1.5% to 40-45% for coals with pyritic sulfur contents of 2.0 to 3.0%. 

Reactivity measures are shown in Table 3.8 and pollution measures are shown in Table 3.9. It is inq)ortant to note that Table 3.9 reflects the purpose of coal cleaning—removing ash and sulfur. The very high ash and sulfur concentrations particularly associated with the CIPS fines indicates the cleaning of high sulfur Interior Province coals. 

Minor Element Distribution in Cool Samples of the Interior Coal Province... 

To this author, the diverse distribution patterns of these elements appear to confirm the paleogeological setting of the sedimentary conditions in the Interior Coal Province in Pennsylvanian time. Schuchert (7) showed that the drainage of the eastern parts of the inland sea in Pennsylvanian time was to the west between the Ozark uplift and the upland south of the present Ouachita Mountains. McDaniel (3) stated that the sedimentary transport direction of the Hartshome Sandstone was from east-northeast to west-southwest. Most of... 

Out of 30 000 analyses of groundwater in the United States, about 10% had arsenic concentrations A10 pg E l (Welch et al., 2000) and 5% had concentrations of >20pgL 1 (Welch et al., 1999). Concentrations tend to be higher in the west (including the Interior Plains, Intermontane Plateau, Rocky Mountains, and Pacific Mountains physiographic provinces) than in the east, although recent studies have identified hotspots of contamination in several Midwestern and northeastern states (e.g. (Welch et al., 2000 Peters et al., 1999 Kelly et al., 2005), Appendix D). 

Bureau of Registration Administration, 2006. Report on the numbers of population by province as of December 2005. Department of Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior of Thailand. In http //www.dopa.go.th/ 30/05/2006. 

The U.S. has vast coal resources of various geologic age (Carboniferous to Tertiary) and rank (lignite to anthracite). The regions with major coal resources in the conterminous U.S. are divided into six provinces Eastern, Interior, Rocky Mountains, Northern Great Plains, Gulf, and Pacific Coast. In addition, there are Alaskan coal fields (1). Information concerning geographic area, age, rank, reserve base, and sulfur abundance in coals from major basins in these provinces is summarized in Table I. 

Zubovic, P. Sheffey, N. B. Stadnichenko, T. "Distribution of Minor Elements in Some Coals in the Western and Southwestern Regions of the Interior Coal Province," U.S.G.S. Bulletin 1117-D, 1967. 

We have chosen to illustrate arsenic enrichment resulting from a subset of these paleohydrologic conditions using geochemical data from coal beds of the Illinois Basin and adjacent portions of the western region of the interior coal province in Iowa and Missouri. These examples also serve to introduce coal as an important lithologic residence of arsenic, a subject that is pursued further in a subsequent section of this paper. 

The effect of a shale window on the arsenic content of coal can be illustrated with data from the interior coal province (Pig. 12). Hatch (1983) pointed out that Pennsylvanian coal seams in southern Iowa and adjacent parts of Missouri, contain sphalerite. The mode of occurrence of this sphalerite is similar to that described in Illinois. Data in the USGS coal database (Bragg et al., 1997) documents the fact that these sphalerite-bearing... 

Sol, S., Thomson, C. J., Kendall, J.-M., White, D., Vandecar, j. C. Asudeh, I. 2002. Seismic tomographic images of the cratonic upper mantle beneath the Western Superior Province of the Canadian Shield a remnant Arehean slab Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, (in press). 

Humboldt and Bonpland, who collected Datura sanguinea on the banks of the Rio Mayo, in New Granada, state that the natives believe that the tonga prepared from this species to be more efficacious as a narcotic than that made from the white-flowered Datura arborea mentioned above. It is from the account of these travelers that the story of the Peruvian prophets is taken. The Temple of the Sun in which they officiated was at Sagamoza, in the interior of what is now Colombia. Dr. Santiago Cortes, in his account of the medicinal plants of the province of Cauca, Colombia, says that there are many stories and fables relating to this plant told by the natives. 

The ash samples from Wyoming coal (WYO-FA, CCWY-FA and CCWY-BA) produce a leachate that is least likely to degrade groundwater supplies. Samples from the Interior Coal Province (SI-BA, SI-FA, NEMO-FA, OK-BA and OK-FA) present the greatest potential for contamination to ground-water, particularly NEMO-FA. The EKY-FA sample from the Eastern Coal Province is intermediate between these two groups. 

Minerals are more the province of geology than chemistry so are perhaps outside the main subject area of this book. However, they are an active field of study where INS has much to offer. Dispersion curves and the vibrational density of states can be calculated by lattice dynamics. These are often extrapolated to the extreme temperatures and pressures present in planetary interiors so it is essential to validate the models beforehand. As in many other areas, comparison of observed and calculated INS spectra provides a rigorous test. Two recent reviews provide a good overview of this field [8,9]. 

Africa. There are several volcanic provinces in Africa, representing different tectonic environments. The Cameroon Line is an intraplate alkaline province extending from the continental interior to the island of Sao Tome, and so across both continental... 

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