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Organic matter in a coal ball: Peat or coal?

Patrick G. Hatcher·P.C. Lyons·C.L. Thompson·F. W. Brown·G.E. Maciel
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Abstract

Chemical analyses of morphologically preserved organic matter in a Carboniferous coal ball reveal that the material is coalified to a rank approximately equal to that of the surrounding coal. Hence, the plant tissues in the coal ball were chemically altered by coalification processes and were not preserved as peat.

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Patrick G. Hatcher, P.C. Lyons, C.L. Thompson, F. W. Brown, G.E. Maciel. 1982. Organic matter in a coal ball: Peat or coal?. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.217.4562.831

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