Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The No. 5 Block In Eastern Kentucky: A Critical Re-Examination Of The Petrology With Special Attention To The Origin Of Inertinite Macerals In The Splint Lithotypes, Allison Ranae Richardson

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Microbes, including fungi and bacteria, and insects are responsible for the consumption and subsequent degradation of plant materials into humus. These microbes directly and indirectly affect the physical and chemical characteristics of coal macerals. Efforts to understand and determine the origins of inertinite macerals are largely misrepresented in the literature, conforming to a single origin of fire. This study focuses on the variability of physical and inferred chemical differences observed petrographically between the different inertinite macerals and discusses the multiple pathways plant material may take to form and or degrade these macerals.

Petrographic results show that fungal activity plays a …