Copies of Supplementary Papers may be obtained from the Geological Society of Australia's website (www.gsa.org.au), the Australian Journal of Earth Sciences website (www.ajes.com.au) or from the National Library of Australia's Pandora archive (https://pandora.nla.gov.au/tep/150555).

Inertinite is an important type of organic maceral found in coal deposits, and also an important geological information carrier of coal forming environments. In the present study the results obtained from experimental tests of coal rock elements and carbon isotopes using scanning electron microscopy, inertinite reflectance, sporopollen and free radical retorting methods and so on, were analyzed. Then, the findings were combined with the previous understanding of the oxygen content in the atmosphere and ground fire characteristics, in order to discuss the genesis mechanism of inertinite in the No. 4 coal seam of the Yan'an Formation. The No. 4 inertinite-rich coal seam of the Middle Jurassic Yan'an Formation in the Binchang Coal field, located in the southern section of the Ordos Basin, was selected as an example. The obtained results were as follows: 1) During the coal forming period of the No. 4 coal seam of the Yan'an Formation in the Binchang Coal Field, the overall climate had been relatively dry. There were four cycles of relatively dry-wet climate conditions, which had been controlled by an eccentricity cycle. It was determined that the of inertinite content had been relatively high during the dry periods; 2) The temperature range suitable for microbial activities during the oxidation processes was between 0 and 80℃. This study’s simulation results of the free-radical concentrations showed that the maximum temperature of fusain in the No. 4 coal seam of the Yan'an Formation during the process of coalification had not exceeded 300℃, which is significantly higher than the temperature range of microbial activities. Therefore, these were unfavorable conditions for both microbial activities and inertinite formation; 3) The genesis temperature of the inertinite in the No. 4 coal seam of the Yan'an Formation was calculated according to the reflectance of the inertinite, which was lower than 400℃. It was determined that the type of wildfire was mainly ground fire, along with partially surface fire. Moreover, the paleogeographic location, climatic conditions, atmospheric oxygen concentration, etc. of the study area showed that the conditions for wildfire events were in fact available. However, it was considered that the inertinite of oxidation origin could not be excluded, but it may not have been the main genesis type; 4) There were dense and scattered fusinite observed in the No. 4 coal seam, and the thicknesses of cell walls were found to differ. Therefore, it was speculated that this was related to the type of wildfire, combustion temperatures, combustion timeframes, and different initial conditions of the burned objects during the coal forming periods.

Coal and oil shale are two common sedimentary energy sources which are often symbiotically developed in Mesozoic-Cenozoic continental fault basins. However, the mechanisms and characteristics of the symbiotic development are not yet clearly known. In this research study, the typical continental fault basins of eastern China were chosen as examples for the purpose of conducting an examination of the coal and oil shale symbiotic assemblage types, genetic environmental differences, and transformation mechanisms, as well as the development and occurrence characteristics of different assemblage types. Through a large number of investigations, systematic experimental testing, and sequence stratigraphy studies, the following conclusions were obtained: (1) There were five types of coal and oil shale symbiotic assemblages observed in the continental fault basins, (2) The development of coal and oil shale deposits requires a warm and humid climate, stable structure, abundant organic matter supply, a certain water depth, and a lower terrestrial source debris supply. The observed differences were that the water depth conditions were diversified in the study area, as well as the sources, types, and content of the organic matter. (3) The rapid transformations of the coal and oil shale genetic environments were mainly controlled by the tectonic settings and climatic conditions, which were determined to control the changes in the water depths, salinity, redox conditions, and lake productivity of the genetic environments. Also, in the symbiotic assemblages, genetic environment changes had induced the development of oil shale deposits, which gradually evolved into coal genetic environments. (4) In the isochronous sequence stratigraphic framework of the coal and oil shale symbiotic assemblages, the lake expansion system tracts (EST) were determined to be the most beneficial to the growth of all the types of assemblages and were characterized by more assemblage development phases and smaller bed thicknesses. From the early to the late stages of the EST, and from the lakesides to lake centers, the thicknesses of the coal seams in the symbiotic assemblages showed trends of thinning, while the thicknesses of the oil shale deposits exhibited increasing trends. The early stages of high stand system tracts were found to be beneficial to the development of the symbiotic assemblages of coal seams overlying the oil shale. This tract type generally presented large bed thicknesses and distribution ranges. The low stand system tract and the late high stand system tract were determined to be unconducive to the development of the symbiotic assemblages.

There are known to be enormous Cenozoic coal-type oil and gas resources located in the basins of the South China Sea, among which the Paleogene coal-measure source rock are one of the main source rock. In order to more effectively analyze the distribution laws of coal-measure source rock in marginal sea basins and guide coal-type oil and gas explorations, the Oligocene coal-measure source rock in the Qiongdongnan Basin were selected as examples in order to systematically analyze the types, development characteristics, control factors, and distribution prediction methods of coalmeasure source rock in marginal sea basins. The Qiongdongnan Basin is located in the northern region of the South China Sea. Previous explorations of the area have determined that the Oligocene coal-measure source rock in the Qiongdongnan Basin have typical-binary structures‖, which include coal seams and terrigenous marine mudstone. Among those, the terrigenous marine mudstone has been found to greatly expand the scope of the coal-measure source rock. In addition, the coal seams which have been exposed by drilling have been observed to have the characteristics of thin single layer thickness, many layers, and poor stability. Meanwhile, the terrigenous marine mudstone has the characteristics of large thickness and wide distribution. The development of coal-measure source rock is known to be controlled by many factors, such as paleoclimate and paleobotany condition, paleo-structure and topography, paleo-geography, rise and fall of base level, and so on. In accordance with the comprehensive analyses of various control factors of coal-measure source rock, and the changes in water body energy in sedimentary environments, a genetic model of the-energy belt‖ for the development and distribution of coal-measure source rock was proposed. Also, the development and distribution characteristics of coalmeasure source rock in different types of energy belts were clarified. Then, based on the development and distribution characteristics of coal-measure source rock and their controlling factors, prediction methods of the distribution ranges of coal-measure source rock were proposed from both qualitative and (semi-) quantitative aspects. That is to say, a method for (semi-) quantitative predictions of the distribution ranges of coal-bearing intervals based on model wave impedance inversion and neural network wave impedance inversion, along with a method for (semi-) quantitative predictions of the distribution ranges of terrigenous marine mudstone based on topographical slopes, were introduced in this study.

Coal, especially the inertinite in it, is highly sensitive to climate changes, showing an obvious response to paleoclimate conditions, in particular, to paleo-oxygen concentration (pO2). In this study, the inertinite abundance data of typical coal-forming periods in China were systematically collected and analyzed. Its characteristics and control factors were studied, and its evolution was established. Based on inertinite abundance data, pO2 evolution curves of various coal-forming periods in China were established, which fluctuated between 15% and 30% during the entire Phanerozoic. The inertinite abundance in coal deposits during Paleozoic in China was basically consistent with that of other areas of the world, while it was quite different globally from the Mesozoic to the Cenozoic. The results show that the inertinite abundance in coal deposits is controlled by pO2 and other factors including climatic zones, plant differentiation, sedimentary environments, and tectonic activities. The inertinite abundance in coal deposits in China during the Jurassic was high, suggesting dry paleoclimate of inland China.