Metalliferous coals of the Westphalian A Joggins Formation, Cumberland Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada: petrology, geochemistry, and palynology

Hower, James C.; Calder, John H.; Eble, Cortland F.; Scott, Andrew C.; Robertson, John; Blanchard, L.J.

doi:10.1016/s0166-5162(99)00039-7

Cited by 35 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Coals testify to periodic thick peat accumulation, typically as bayfills were drowned. Some precursor peats were formed as rheotrophic mires (Calder, 1994, 1998; Hower et al ., 2000). The coal beds at Joggins contain evidence for recurring wildfires, such as fossil charcoal (fusain), which suggests that the peatlands had to tolerate drier periods and were fed by groundwater flow during these conditions (Calder, 1994).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4, 450 m and 470 m), comprise individual coal seams, 10–56 cm thick, that are separated by clay layers. These coals are generally vitrinite rich, have high total sulphur (up to 13·7%) and high trace metal contents (Hower et al ., 2000). The Upper Fundy Seam (coal 28) is a high vitrinite coal in which arboreous lycopsid spores dominate spore assemblages.…”

Section: Coalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Architecture of coastal and alluvial deposits in an extensional basin: the Carboniferous Joggins Formation of eastern Canada

2003

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The Joggins Formation was deposited in the Cumberland Basin, which experienced rapid mid-Carboniferous subsidence on bounding faults. A 600 m measured section of coastal and alluvial plain strata comprises cycles tens to hundreds of metres thick. The cycles commence with coal and fossiliferous limestone/siltstone intervals, interpreted as widespread flooding events. These intervals are overlain by coarsening-upward successions capped by planar-based sandstone mounds, up to 100 m in width that represent the progradation of small, river-generated delta lobes into a standing body of open water developed during transgression. The overlying strata contain sand-rich heterolithic packages, 1-8 m thick, that are associated with channel bodies 2-3 m thick and 10-50 m wide. Drifted plant debris, Calamites groves and erect lycopsid trees are preserved within these predominantly green-grey heterolithic sediments, which were deposited on a coastal wetland or deltaic plain traversed by channel systems. The cycles conclude with red siltstones, containing calcareous nodules, that are interbedded with thin sandstones and associated with both single-storey channel bodies (1-1AE5 m thick and 2-3 m wide) and larger, multistorey channels (3-6 m thick) with incised margins. Numerous channel bodies at the same level suggest that multiple-channel, anastomosed river systems were developed on a well-drained floodplain. Many minor flooding surfaces divide the strata into parasequences with dominantly progradational and aggradational stacking patterns. Multistorey channel bodies are relatively thin, fine grained and modestly incised, and palaeosols are immature and cumulative. The abundance and prominence of flooding surfaces suggests that base-level rise was enhanced, whereas the lack of evidence for abrupt basinward stepping of facies belts, coupled with the absence of strong fluvial incision and mature palaeosols, suggests that baselevel fall was suppressed. These architectural features are considered to reflect a tectonic architectural signature, in accordance with the high-subsidence basinal setting. Evidence for restricted marine influence and variation in floral assemblages suggests modulation by eustatic and climatic effects, although their relative importance is uncertain.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Coalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Architecture of coastal and alluvial deposits in an extensional basin: the Carboniferous Joggins Formation of eastern Canada

2003

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“…The PDF assemblage represents wetland deposits in which forested mires (peatlands) flourished, and at times struggled in the face of repeated disturbance from fire and flood (Falcon‐Lang, 1999; Hower et al ., 2000). Many of these forest swamp horizons with which the great standing lycopsid trees are associated were incipient mires, resembling the ‘clastic swamps’ of Gastaldo (1986).…”

Section: Poorly Drained Floodplain Assemblagementioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation‐induced sedimentary structures from fossil forests in the Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, Nova Scotia

Rygel¹,

Gibling²,

Calder³

2004

Sedimentology

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Vegetation‐induced sedimentary structures (VISS) are primary structures formed by the interaction of detrital sediment with in situ plants. VISS provide physical evidence of vegetation's fundamental role in mediating sediment accumulation and erosion in clastic depositional systems. Despite the abundance of modern VISS, descriptions from the ancient record are surprisingly rare. Analysis of fossil forests in floodplain strata of the Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation has identified seven types of VISS. Five hydrodynamic types comprise simple forms developed around a single plant (centroclinal cross‐strata, scratch circles, upturned beds) and complex forms where structures have amalgamated between several plants (coalesced scour fills, scour‐and‐mound beds). Two types (mudstone‐filled hollows, downturned beds) form by the decay of an entombed plant and represent infilling of an empty hollow and/or soft‐sediment deformation. Hydrodynamic types are present in both dryland and wetland settings, whereas decay‐related types occur only in dryland settings where the water table was perennially or periodically low. VISS represent significant accumulations of sediment and are present in a high proportion of Joggins Formation strata. The paucity of descriptions from the ancient record suggests that these structures have been overlooked or misinterpreted as strictly hydrodynamic. Recognition of VISS in early to middle Palaeozoic strata may provide an important insight into the distribution of early land plants in oxidizing environments where organic material was not preserved.

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“…Based on the very high sulphur content of underlying coals (up to 13%; Hower et al . ) and various aspects of the lithology and palaeontology of the limestone beds (reviewed in the introduction), fish‐bearing concentrates were deposited in extensive, shallow, aerobic to dysaerobic, brackish seas (Gibling and Kalkreuth ; Archer et al . ; Grey et al .…”

Section: Geological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Pennsylvanian (Langsettian) fish assemblages from the Joggins Formation, Canada, and their implications for palaeoecology and palaeogeography

et al. 2015

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A review of all available specimens of fossil fishes from the classic Pennsylvanian Joggins locality of Nova Scotia, Canada, reveals the existence of a diverse community of chondrichthyans (xenacanthids, ctenacanthids and the enigmatic Ageleodus), acanthodians (gyracanthids), sarcopterygians (rhizodontids, megalichthyids, rhizodopsids and dipnoans) and actinopterygians (haplolepids). Reassessment of supposed endemic species (Ctenoptychius cristatus, Sagenodus plicatus, Gyracanthus duplicatus) indicates they are invalid, and overall, the assemblage comprises cosmopolitan taxa that were widespread around the coasts of tropical Pangaea. Strontium isotope analysis of fish remains and a critical study of their facies context suggest that these fish communities occupied bodies of water with salinities across the marine-freshwater spectrum. This preponderance of euryhaline forms implies a community structure quite distinct from that of today and might represent a transitory phase prior to the establishment of fully freshwater fish communities. Interpretation of fish ecology provides further evidence that the Joggins Formation was deposited in a paralic setting, and the recognition of one previously undetected brackish incursion strengthens the link between sedimentary cycles at Joggins and Milankovitch-induced glacio-eustatic change. Furthermore, interregional correlation of these marine transgressions supports palynostratigraphical arguments for an early Langsettian age for the Joggins Formation. This places tighter constraints on the age of the earliest known crown amniote, Hylonomus lyelli, an important calibration point used in phylogenomic studies.

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Metalliferous coals of the Westphalian A Joggins Formation, Cumberland Basin, Nova Scotia, Canada: petrology, geochemistry, and palynology

Cited by 35 publications

References 34 publications

Architecture of coastal and alluvial deposits in an extensional basin: the Carboniferous Joggins Formation of eastern Canada

Architecture of coastal and alluvial deposits in an extensional basin: the Carboniferous Joggins Formation of eastern Canada

Vegetation‐induced sedimentary structures from fossil forests in the Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, Nova Scotia

Early Pennsylvanian (Langsettian) fish assemblages from the Joggins Formation, Canada, and their implications for palaeoecology and palaeogeography

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