Assoc. Prof. I. I. Ammosov

EXPERIENCE IN CORRELATING SEAMS AT THE LENINSKY DEPOSIT IN KUZBASS

INTRODUCTION

Up to the present time, in correlating seams in Kuzbass the following criteria have been used: seam thickness, macroscopic features of the enclosing rocks, interbeds of conglomerates, distances between seams, seam complexes, and interbeds of barren rock within the seams (12). An attempt to use plant impressions, as well as pelecypods, for purposes of correlation has not yet yielded favorable results. The constructions obtained when using the above-mentioned criteria are far from always deserving of confidence, since in the productive sequence of Kuzbass marker horizons are usually absent, while seam thickness, the distances between them, and the lithological composition of the enclosing rocks, as has been fully proved, in some cases change more or less rapidly.

In the present work a new method of spore analysis has for the first time been applied to the correlation of seams in the Kuznetsk Basin. The coals of the Leninsky deposit have been subjected to study; they are at a comparatively low stage of maturity and, as a result, are readily susceptible to maceration. In addition, the question of seam correlation is most acute precisely in the Leninsky district, which is due, on the one hand, to the particular features of the geological structure of the district, and, on the other, to the character of the exploration work carried out here, scattered over a large area but illuminating in detail only small sectors far removed from one another (the Krasnoyarsky, Vinogradovsko-Smirnovsky, Egozovsky, and Leninsko-Polysaevsky sectors). Such a situation, of course, makes the synonymy of seams difficult, and when the old methods of comparing them are used it makes it necessary to carry out additional, rather costly, exploration work. It is therefore very tempting to try to find a method that would make it possible to correlate seams on a sounder basis and thus somewhat reduce exploration work.

This small work, the first in this field for Kuzbass, does not claim to provide a categorical solution to the disputed questions of seam correlation in the Leninsky district. In undertaking it, I hoped, on the one hand, to obtain an idea of the possibility of using this method for the coals of the Kuznetsk Basin, and, on the other, to accumulate material for the solution of one of the unclear and important questions of the stratigraphy of the Leninsky deposit—

…—the correlation of the seams of the Zhurinsky sector with the seams exposed in the northwestern limb of the Leninskaya syncline.

After exploratory work had been carried out in the Leninsky district by various persons, two sharply divergent points of view on this question emerged. Thus, geologist G. P. Radchenko (10, p. 256 and Tables 1, 2, and 5) considers it possible to correlate the Zhurinsky seam with the Baikaimsky seam, and the Dalny seam with the Abramovsky seam; P. I. Dorofeev (3) and G. M. Kostomanov, geologists of the Kuzbassugol trust, identify the Zhurinsky seam with the Krasnogorsky seam.

The presence of the large Zhurinsky fault does not make it possible to trace directly the stratigraphic position of these seams, and the variability in the thickness of the seams and of the enclosing rocks does not provide confidence in the correctness of either point of view.

CHARACTER OF SPORES

Spores and pollen are the reproductive organs of plants. They are microscopic, chiefly spherical bodies consisting of a shell and internal contents—protoplasm, etc. The spore shell consists of three layers: the outer—a thin perisporium, the middle—a thick exosporium, also called exine, and the inner—a thin layer of endosporium, or intine (13). The perisporium and endosporium are not very resistant and are encountered in the fossil state only in exceptional cases. Of course, one should not expect protoplasm to be preserved in fossil coals either, since it changes greatly even at the very first stages of decomposition. On the contrary, the exine, possessing great resistance, stubbornly and for a long time resists biochemical and physicochemical decomposition. As a result, the exine is clearly distinguishable under microscopic examination not only of peat, but also of brown, long-flame, gas, and semi-fat coals, of some sapropelites, and also of lithobioliths. However, at high stages of coalification the exine in coals changes greatly, merges with the surrounding humus mass, and cannot be isolated either by microscopic examination in thin sections or polished sections, or by maceration. Exine consists of sporonin, esters, higher fatty acids, fats, and resins (14). Sporonin constitutes the main part of the exine and is distinguished by the greatest resistance.

In botany, spores are divided into male and female, the principal distinguishing feature for such a subdivision being the character of the gametophyte obtained during the germination of spores. It should be noted that male and female spores are very diverse in size. Thus, there are large and very small male spores, as well as large and small female spores. Spores and pollen

(the filament) are homologous. The sole difference between spore envelopes and pollen envelopes in the fossil state is considered to be the absence, in pollen, of a triradiate dehiscence mark. However, this feature can hardly be regarded as sufficiently firm, especially since, in the microscopic study of products of coal maceration, we usually deal with strongly deformed material, on which not all original features are always preserved, including, in particular, the triradiate mark. Moreover, the triradiate mark is present on only one side of the spore. Therefore, when fossil spores are examined in a preparation, where they occur in the most varied positions, the triradiate mark is for the most part not visible, which greatly complicates the correct assignment of the object under study to pollen or to a spore. In any case, given the homology of spores and pollen, this apparently is not of great importance. For example, in modern botanical literature one may often find a double designation for spores and pollen. Thus, the term “spore” is often explained in parentheses by the word “pollen,” and, conversely, pollen is accompanied by the term spore, likewise enclosed in parentheses. For fossil microflora, when the sexual character and the affiliation of the formations under study with spores or pollen often cannot be established, it is appropriate, in designating small spores and pollen, to use the term “breviospores” (brevis—small). We shall use this term in the subsequent exposition.

Thus, in studying fossil pollen and spores we shall distinguish breviospores and megaspores. Variations in the diameters of both lie within broad limits, namely from 10 to 3000 μ. The exact boundary between breviospores, usually called microspores by other authors, and megaspores has not yet been established, but the diameters of most microspores lie within the range of 15–70 μ, while the size of macrospores varies from 500 to 300 μ. In the coals studied from the Kuznetsk Basin there occur almost exclusively breviospores with a diameter of 20–50 μ, and more rarely the size of spores and pollen reaches 90–110 μ (Table 2 and Appendices I–IV).

In most cases the exine has thickenings projecting on the outer side and called ornaments or sculpture of the exine. However, completely smooth breviospores also occur. The sculpture of the exines of breviospores is very diverse. Thus, for example, it may be represented by small tubercles—granules—closely adjoining one another and covering the entire surface of the exine; in other cases the exine bears larger, isolated, blunt or sharp tubercles, sometimes reaching fairly considerable sizes; some exines are covered with rib-like thickenings, sometimes straight, sometimes curving, and in some cases forming a lattice. Not infrequently, along the periphery of the breviospore there is formed a flat wing-ring, or paired air sacs serving for transport

pollen. All these features make it possible to distinguish one megaspore from another. For this same purpose one may also use the form and dimensions of megaspores, which are likewise very diverse.

In studying the products of coal maceration, megaspores are usually observed in the form of flattened oval bodies; however, in their natural state they are spherical, and the flattening must be regarded as the result of deformations that occurred during the formation of the coal seam.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MEGASPORES FOR THE CORRELATION OF COAL SEAMS

Because of their wide distribution in continental deposits, fossil spores will probably have the same stratigraphic significance as foraminifers in marine or near-shore marine sedimentary rocks. Foraminifers, as is well known, are already used in correlating oil-bearing strata. The great stratigraphic significance of foraminifers is due, on the one hand, to their very broad distribution in the deposits of the aforementioned facies, and, on the other, to the enormous variety of morphological features of these organisms, which makes it possible to distinguish a large number of their generic and specific varieties. In addition, the small size of foraminifers is very important. The latter makes it possible to find whole specimens preserved in the sedimentary rock fragmented during drilling, and to obtain a rich concentration of them in a few grams of the rock under study. Thus, it has been established that some beds of oil-bearing formations are very rich in foraminifers, and in a small sample (of 3–5 cm³) one may count several thousand specimens belonging to several dozen species. In the study of our oil-bearing deposits, foraminifers were already used by D. V. Golubyatnikov in 1908, and at the present time this method is widely applied in the USSR and gives valuable results.

The experience of foreign and Russian investigators has shown that, in correlating coal seams, one should use not “guide” spores, but their assemblages. Thus, the statistical method, associated with counting the percentage content of fossil exines of spores, proves here to be the most acceptable.

The ancient peat bogs that served for the formation of fossil coal seams were excellent collectors of spores and pollen, preserving all their enormous diversity. Thus, in one or two grams of Leninsky coal we find considerably more paleobotanical material (2,000–4,000 spores and pollen grains) than in many hundreds and thousands of cubic meters of barren rocks, in which, owing to their strong diagenesis, it is still possible to use only macroscopic impressions of plants.

…formations, not so often encountered in a good state of preservation.

Even before the beginning of the present work (2), I traced the variability of the spore composition along the strike of the Serebrennikov seam. For this purpose, interbeds identical in petrographic composition and stratigraphic position were selected in five samples of this seam. The most suitable proved to be interbeds of bright striated coal (variety I), occurring in all five samples beneath the barren rocks of the roof. In microscopic composition these interbeds proved to be identical. Thus, they consist of the cuticular-spore attritus predominating here, weakly saturated with formed bodies and interbedded with layers of vitrite. Thus, one may assume that the original material and the conditions of its decomposition that took place during the formation of these interbeds were analogous, which made it possible to compare their spore composition.

The coal of each of the interbeds was subjected to maceration. In all the products of maceration one can observe a large number of megaspores, quite a few cuticles, various fragments of cellular tissue, and indeterminate formations—some completely opaque, others yellowish or reddish. The megaspores are numerous and diverse, but among them 4–5 “genera” may be distinguished as occurring most frequently. These include the genera Occa, Magis, Gomphus, and Rota.

The characteristic spore spectrum for the Serebrennikov seam, traced in five samples, is expressed by an extremely high content in all samples of megaspores of Occa, which occupy first place in number (40–60%), by a considerable content of megaspores of Magis (7–20%), usually occupying second place in number of specimens after the genus Occa, and by a fairly large content of megaspores of the genera Rota and Gomphus, occupying third or fourth places. The remaining megaspores occur in all samples in very small numbers, but their diversity is very great. Megaspores are especially diverse in the extreme eastern and western samples. Thus, a characteristic spore spectrum is established for the Serebrennikov seam, maintained rather well across all five samples, the outermost of which were taken 4.5 km apart from one another.

This served as the basis for carrying out the present work, which, as we shall see below, once again confirms the possibility of using microflora for the parallelization of coal seams of Kuzbass.

It is highly probable that, after a detailed study of the spore composition of the seams of the Leninsky deposit, it will be possible to determine the stratigraphic position of the seams of the Krasnoyarka and Vinogradovsko-Smirnovsky areas, which at present occupy a completely indeterminate position, and also to refine the normal section of the Egozovsky area and to carry out the correlation…

of the Kuryinsky and Podkuryinsky seams with the seams of the north-eastern limb of the Leninsky syncline. This method will have no less significance in solving larger stratigraphic questions concerning the Kolchugino series of Kuzbass—for example, in correlating the seams of the Leninsky deposit with the seams of the Pinigeno-Plotnikovsky, Evtinsky, Erunakovsky, Belovsky, Baidaevsky, Osinovsky, and other deposits.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Pollen analysis of modern peat bogs has shown that the composition of pollen changes sharply through the thickness of peat bogs. This depends on climatic conditions, which changed over the long period of formation of the peat bog and caused a change in the plants—suppliers of pollen and spores—that grew in the peat bog and on its periphery. There is hardly any reason to doubt that changes in climatic conditions and changes in coal-forming plants occurred during the formation of the majority of Mesozoic and Paleozoic peat bogs that were transformed into coal seams. This is especially true of thick coal seams formed from still thicker peat bogs, which developed over an especially long period of time.

When parallelizing coal seams by microflora, it is necessary to take into account the change in spore composition through the thickness of the seams. To prevent possible inaccuracies in determining the percentage content of various spore species, which depend on the causes mentioned above, I believe that one may proceed in three ways, namely: (a) study the microflora of all coal interbeds that make up a coal seam, from its floor to its roof; (b) determine the spore composition in an average sample of the seam; and (c) count spores in maceration products from identical coal interbeds that occupy a definite and easily recognizable stratigraphic position in the seam under study. Thus, in the last case, the spore composition is studied in interbeds that formed at the same time and under identical conditions.

If the path of studying all coal interbeds is chosen, quite accurate¹ results can be obtained, but this path is very laborious and expensive. The second method should give fairly good results, but it also has shortcomings. Thus, in the maceration products of an average seam sample, which usually contains more mineral impurities than individual interbeds of bright banded coal and semibright coal, the relative number of spores is considerably smaller than in the maceration products of specially selected clean interbeds of bright banded, semidull, or dull coal¹. In addition, taking an accurate average sample of a coal—

¹ The concentration of spores can be increased by centrifugation in heavy liquids.

of seams from boreholes, as well as of thick and very thick seams currently being worked, is, unfortunately, rather difficult. The third method, in my opinion, is entirely applicable, given sufficient skill in coal petrography and careful sampling, and has a number of advantages. Errors that might arise when it is necessary to select identical coal bands from strata of the same stratigraphic horizons of a seam can easily be avoided if the seam contains persistent partings of barren rock, and also when samples are taken from coal bands adjacent to the normal floor or roof of the seam.

In the present work, when comparing the spore composition of the seams of the Leninsky deposit, I used the last method. Thus, in all the seams being compared, bands of coal adjacent to the roof were selected for maceration. The designated bands were first subjected to petrographic study in thin sections and were chosen so that their petrographic composition would be approximately the same. The coal was then macerated. Counts of the lycopsid-spore composition were made in permanent mounts, using immersion. Up to 200 lycopsid spores were counted in all samples.

SAMPLING

Since the Krasnoorlovsky seam is not yet being worked, in order to become acquainted with the spore composition of the seams correlated by geologist G. P. Radchenko, on the one hand, and by geologists P. I. Dorofeev and G. M. Kostomanov, on the other, it was necessary to take samples from two pairs of seams. Thus, the Zhurinsky and Baikaimsky seams were sampled, as well as the Krasnoorlovsky and I Podzhurinsky seams. From each seam, 2 or 4 samples were taken and studied. Four samples were taken from the Zhurinsky seam, 3 samples from the Baikaimsky, 4 samples from the I Podzhurinsky, and 2 samples from the Krasnoorlovsky. Samples of the I Podzhurinsky seam were taken in the workings of the mine complex Zhurinka 3, Zhurinka 3/25, and Leninskaya (Table 1). The distance between the extreme eastern sample (No. 1) and the extreme western sample (No. 4) is 600 m. Between them are samples No. 2 and No. 3, situated at deeper horizons. The straight-line distances between samples Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are respectively 420, 250, and 180 m. Samples of the Zhurinsky seam were collected in the underground workings of the same mine complex. Samples Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8 (Table 1) are located almost along the dip of the Zhurinsky seam, and the distance between the extreme samples No. 8 and No. 6 is 850 m; samples No. 5 and No. 6, however, are located not far from one another along the strike of the seam (48 m). Two samples of the Baikaimsky seam were taken in the “7 November” mine, and one (No. 9) in shaft No. 11. All samples of the Baikaimsky seam are located almost along the strike and are numbered from west to east, from No. 9 to No. 11. The distance between

Table 1

Table 1 (continued)

between samples No. 9 and No. 10 is approximately 1600 m, and between No. 10 and No. 11—600 m. Thus, the end samples of the Baikaim seam are spaced from one another by approximately 2200 m. From the Krasnoorlovsky seam two samples (No. 12 and No. 13) were taken in the Krasny Orel adit: sample No. 12 is located 320 m from the mouth of the adit, and sample No. 13—460 m from the mouth.

Since the question of the spore composition of seams in Kuzbass is entirely new, it was appropriate first of all to verify the applicability of analysis of spore composition for identification by studying seams that are most distant in stratigraphic position. To this end the spore composition was determined for the Dalny seam (sample No. 14), occurring in the upper part of the Erunakovskaya subseries, and for the Maksimovsky seam (sample No. 15), located in the lower parts of this subseries. The sample of the Dalny seam was taken in the adit of the Coal Trade Union, and the Maksimovsky seam was sampled in Mine “A.” In addition, in order to become acquainted with the spore composition of the group of Podzhurinsky seams, samples of seams V Podzhurinsky (sample No. 16) and XI Podzhurinsky (sample No. 17) were studied, one sample from each seam. Both of these samples were taken from the core of borehole No. 168, kindly made available to me by geologist Cheremnykh.

SPORE COMPOSITION OF THE SEAMS

A detailed description of the brevisspores present in the coals studied is not given here, since the greater part of them has already been described (2); moreover, the features of the various brevisspores are well characterized by the microdrawings appended to the article, made with the aid of a drawing apparatus. The characterization of new forms is set out in somewhat greater detail than that of those previously known. The brevisspores Magis, Occa, Gomphus, and Faba (2) are distributed in all seams; at the same time, the content of brevisspores Magis and Occa fluctuates greatly in different samples of one and the same seam. It is absolutely necessary to subdivide these “genera” into smaller groups—“species,” which can be done according to the size and sculpture or structure of the brevisspores. The necessity of such subdivision is very clearly revealed for the genus Occa. To this genus are assigned tuberculate brevisspores, very widespread in the Leninsky coals of Kuzbass (Appendix II, Figs. 1–11). Their taxonomic position has not yet been clarified. Similar forms were recorded by E. S. Korzhenevskaya (6) in the Permian coal-bearing deposits of the Pechora coal basin, where they were assigned to group III of spores and marked by the symbols j and c, and they were also found by me in the coals of the Tunguska coal basin. To this genus, as can be seen in the figures of Appendix II, belong oval brevisspores, varying in size (from 20 to 50 μ), but always bearing tuberculate, more or less coarse sculptural ornamentation.

Large, coarsely tuberculate oval Occa are especially widespread—

Table 2

Typical composition of seam spores

distributed in the Baikaim, Krasnoorlov, V Podzhurinsk, and XI Podzhurinsk seams, where in quantity they often occupy third, fourth, or even first and second places (Table 2). In the other seams studied, on the contrary, these megaspores occur relatively rarely and, by quantity, stand in 6th or 8th place; in the sample from the Dalny seam they are absent altogether. Thus, the need is quite clear to distinguish them as a separate species having great stratigraphic significance. I have named such megaspores Ossa maxima n. sp. (Appendix II, Figs. 7, 8, and 9). In addition to the large megaspores of the genus Ossa, which have coarse sculptural ornamentation, there are also large oval or shell-shaped spores covered with less coarse sculptural ornamentation (Appendix II, Figs. 10 and 11). For the time being, until more careful study, no name has been assigned to them. There are also large and medium-sized oval and rounded Ossa, bearing long (up to 8 μ) fingerlike ornamentation. Such megaspores were observed in seams lying below the Zhurinsk seam, where they received the name Ossa korovini Am. (2; see also Appendix II, Fig. 6).

Medium-sized Ossa (30—38 μ) should also be divided into two species. Thus, in the Dalny seam the content of Ossa megaspores measuring 20—38 μ reaches 30%, and in the Maksimov seam, 30—33%. However, the Ossa megaspores of the Maksimov seam differ very sharply from the Ossa megaspores of the Dalny seam. The former stand out sharply by their coarse tuberculation (Appendix II, Figs. 1 and 2), while the Ossa from the Dalny seam bear only small ornamentation (Appendix II, Figs. 3 and 4). The former, coarsely tuberculate, have been named Ossa ussovi Am. (2), and the latter—O. parva n. sp. It has also been noted that the content of coarsely tuberculate O. ussovi Am. increases from top to bottom—from the Dalny seam to the Maksimov seam.

It is necessary to distinguish the size of the saccate pollen (Table 2, as well as Appendix III, Figs. 1—5 and Appendix IV, Figs. 1—3). The Zhurinsk seam is especially sharply distinguished by its significant content of large (55—92 μ) saccate pollen; in the remaining seams studied, small (20—50 μ) specimens of this pollen usually predominate, while in the Baikaim seam the content of large and small saccate pollen is approximately the same (Table 2).

The assignment of the forms depicted in Plates III and IV to saccate pollen in the coals of other basins has already been made by a number of authors (1, 4, 5, 8, and 9). They have been found in coals of the most varied ages, beginning with the Tertiary Kamchatka coals (9) and ending with Permian coals. In earlier works (2), saccate pollen was divided into two genera—Gomphus (Appendix IV, Figs. 1—3) and Faba (Appendix III, Figs. 1—5). In the future, in my opinion, it will be necessary to establish a more detailed division of each of the genera of this pollen according to size, as well as according to sculpture.

It is also necessary to make a more detailed subdivision of the tree-spores (pollen) Magis, which vary in size (from 35 to 110 µ) and in form (Appendix I). This pollen is very widespread in the coals of the Kuzbass (Table 2). Previously (2) Magis was assigned to the pollen Mesopitys tchihatcheffii; but at present it must be considered more correct to assign it to the genus Noeggerathiopsis, impressions of whose leaves are very often found in the productive deposits of the Kuzbass. I have been able to study interbeds of coal consisting exclusively of leaves of Noeggerathiopsis, readily distinguishable with the naked eye. In the maceration products of such coal, the pollen Magis is very abundant, making up here up to 90% of all the pollen. This undoubtedly indicates a connection between the pollen Magis and the leaves of Noeggerathiopsis. Another confirmation is the abundance of Magis in the maceration products of almost any piece of coal from various seams, as well as the abundance of impressions of Noeggerathiopsis, which occur in almost any part of the productive deposits of the Kuzbass.

The established diversity in the size and form of cordaitalean pollen (Magis) is of great paleobotanical significance, since it will permit a detailed subdivision of the genus Noeggerathiopsis; the necessity of such a subdivision has already become sufficiently apparent. On the other hand, a detailed subdivision of the pollen Magis will perhaps also be of significance in the correlation of seams.

In addition to the spores mentioned, the seams investigated contain rather varied, but isolated, tree-spores, whose significance in the correlation of seams has not yet been clarified. More often than others, small (25–40 µ), ovoid tree-spores are encountered. They are smooth or covered with fine dots. The content of these spores in the seams investigated ranges from 0 to 5%. The tree-spore Rota forta Am. (2), diagnostic for the Serebrennikovsky seam (Table 2, spore No. 10), is also not infrequently present in the seams investigated, as is a peculiar tuberculate tree-spore, at the same time pointed at both ends (Table 2, spore No. 11).

Dalny Seam (one sample). In the maceration products of this coal a high content of cordaitalean pollen (genus Magis) is observed, among which forms of medium size decisively predominate; small rings are encountered more rarely, while large specimens were not found. Spores of the genus Occa are abundant, but differ sharply from the species O. ussovi Am. by their smaller size (20–25 µ) and less coarse sculptural ornamentation. Thus they belong to O. parva n. sp. (Appendix II, Fig. 3). Coarsely tuberculate tree-spores of O. ussovi Am. are observed very rarely, and the species O. maxima n. sp. was not detected at all. Also characteristic are the small sizes (20–36 µ) of pollen of the saccate genera Gomphus and Faba (Table 2). In addition, it is necessary to note a considerable number of other genera of tree-spores, occurring as isolated specimens.

Zhurinsky Seam (four samples). First and second places, as in the other seams, are occupied here by the genus Magis and by medium-sized specimens of the genus Occa (Table 2). The content of Occa maxima n. sp. is lower than in the Baikaimsky seam (5–6% versus 13–20%). Noteworthy are the abundance of large saccate pollen (genera Gomphus and Faba) and a distinctive, almost isometric pollen (Appendix III, Fig. 3), sometimes attaining considerable dimensions, up to 100 μ (Appendix III, Fig. 1).

II Podzhurinsky Seam (four samples). In the different samples of this seam the content of Magis and finely tuberculate Occa (of medium size) varies greatly, but they always occupy first or second place. Occa maxima n. sp. occurs in an amount of 3–9%. In contrast to the Zhurinsky seam, there is less large saccate pollen (Gomphus and Faba) here. In addition to typical Occa maxima n. sp., large Occa with long outgrowths—sculptural ornaments—are encountered quite often, as are large but finely tuberculate Occa, together amounting to 3–6% (Appendix II, Figs. 6, 10, and 11). In addition, rare Rota forta Am. are observed here, described in the Serebrennikovsky seam (2).

Krasnoorlovsky Seam (two samples). First and second places here are also occupied by the genera Magis and medium-tuberculate Occa (Table 2). O. maxima n. sp. occurs rather often and usually stands in third place (13–6%). The content of small and medium saccate pollen is considerably higher than that of large pollen. Both O. parva n. sp. (16%) and coarsely tuberculate O. ussovi Am. (4.6%) are observed. Log-spores Rota forta Am. (2–3%), described in the Serebrennikovsky seam, are sometimes observed.

V Podzhurinsky Seam (one sample). Here we see a comparatively small content of Magis and finely tuberculate Occa. A large quantity of Occa maxima n. sp. is observed (Table 2), among which specimens with rather large ornamentation occur. Rota forta Am. are fairly frequent (5%), as are distinctive two-pointed log-spores, similar to saccate pollen but coarsely tuberculate (6%). Among the specimens of Magis, large individuals (up to 100 μ) are often encountered. Small and medium saccate pollen is more abundant than large specimens.

Baikaimsky Seam (three samples). The content of medium-sized Magis is usually considerably lower than the content of Occa. A characteristic feature of the seam is the high content of log-spores Occa maxima (Appendix II, Figs. 7 and 8), occupying second or third place after the genus Magis, and of small log-spores Occa (Table 2). The latter may be divided into coarsely tuberculate Occa ussovi Am. (Appendix II, Figs. 1 and 2) and medium-tuberculate forms (Appendix II, Figs. 3, 4, and 10). Their total content is lower than in the other seams. Large (65–100 μ)

specimens of saccate pollen (Appendix IV, Figs. 1 and 2) are as abundant as the small forms of this pollen.

Seam XI Podzhurinsky (one sample). With a large amount of Magis (36%), there are comparatively few medium-sized Occa (16%). The latter belong chiefly to the finely tuberculate forms. The content of Occa maxima, which occupy third place in the sample studied, is fairly high (Table 2). Small saccate pollen predominates over large.

Maksimovsky Seam (one sample). The content of cordaite pollen is fairly high; among it, pollen of medium size predominates, but large specimens are also frequently encountered. Small rings are observed more rarely. The structure of the rings is rather varied, but simple ones predominate (Appendix I, Figs. 2 and 3). There is a very abundant content of coarsely tuberculate monosaccate spores (Appendix II, Figs. 1 and 2), Occa ussovi Am. Third place is occupied by small (20 μ) and medium (36–50 μ) specimens of saccate pollen of the genus Gomphus, and fourth place belongs to small (20 μ) and medium (35–48 μ) saccate pollen of the genus Faba. In fifth place are Occa maxima and O. korovini Am. The content of the remaining monosaccate spores is small (Table 2).

The spore composition in the Zhurinsky, I Podzhurinsky, Krasnoorlovsky, and Baikaimsky seams was studied from all the samples listed in Table 1. Variability of the spore composition among different samples of a single seam is often observed. This applies especially to monosaccate spores of Magis, the content of which fluctuates greatly in different samples. However, the characteristic complex of spores is preserved in all samples of one seam. For example, in the Baikaimsky seam, the samples of which were taken especially far apart from one another (600 and 1600 m), a high content of Occa maxima n. sp., characteristic of this seam, is observed everywhere; and in all samples of the Zhurinsky seam there is a large amount of large saccate pollen.

CONCLUSION

If one compares the spore composition of the seams studied, the first thing that stands out is the sharp difference in the composition of the Dalny and Maksimovsky seams. In the former, Occa parva n. sp. predominates, while in the latter—O. ussovi Am. The Baikaimsky, V Podzhurinsky, and XI Podzhurinsky seams are distinguished by a high content of O. maxima n. sp. and by a comparatively small amount of O. parva n. sp. and O. ussovi Am. The Krasnoorlovsky and I Podzhurinsky seams are similar in their content of O. parva n. sp., but differ in the somewhat higher content in the Krasnoorlovsky seam of O. maxima and the smaller amount there of small Faba and Gomphus. The Zhurinsky seam differs sharply from the Bai-

kaimsky by the low content of Ossa maxima n. sp. and a very large quantity of coarse pollen of sagas.

Table 3

Data of the chemical analysis of vitrite

The similarity of the spore composition of the Baykaimsky seam with the seams lying below the Zhurinsky seam, expressed in the high content of O. maxima, which is observed in the products of maceration of the coal of the Baykaimsky seam, as well as of seams V Podzhurinsky and XI Podzhurinsky, makes it possible to suppose a considerably lower stratigraphic position for the Baykaimsky seam than is assumed by the geologist G. P. Radchenko. In the seams situated below and above the complex of the Podzhurinsky seams, such a high content of O. maxima was not observed (Table 2).

This conclusion is confirmed by the data of the elementary analysis of vitrite from seams of the Leninsky deposit that differ in stratigraphic position (Table 3). Here the carbon content, determined on the combustible mass, increases continuously from top to bottom, from the Geolkomovsky seam to the Polenovsky seam¹. Comparing the elementary analysis of vitrite samples from the Baykaimsky and Zhurinsky seams, we see a higher carbon content in the vitrite of the Baykaimsky seam, which indicates a higher degree of coalification, probably depending, according to Hilt’s rule, on the lower stratigraphic position of the seam. Thus, both the study of the microflora,

Thus, the data of the chemical analysis also indicate that the Baikaimsky seam lies below the Zhurinsky seam.

To correlate the Baikaimsky seam with the seams exposed north of the Zhurinsky fault, let us turn to one more method of parallelization, often used in Kuzbass—namely, let us compare the seam complexes. We shall use the seam complexes of the composite sections of the Leninsky and Zhurinsky areas (11). If the complex of seams from the Zhurinsky to the IX Podzhurinsky (also No. 12) in the composite section of the Zhurinsky area is compared with the complex of seams from the Krasnoyarsky to the Baikaimsky in the composite section of the Leninsky area, then the great similarity of these seam complexes is readily apparent. Thus, the Baikaimsky seam corresponds to the IX Podzhurinsky seam, the Listvyazhsky seam to seam No. 13, the Abramovsky to the Butovsky, and so on.

This once again confirms the correctness of the conclusions obtained on the basis of the study of the microflora.

Further study of the spore composition of the coals of Kuzbass may yield very interesting material, necessary both for correlating seams and for the purposes of a deeper understanding of the development and systematics of Permian plants—coal-formers.

REFERENCES

1. Ammosov, I. I. Fossil microflora from the coals of the Bukachachinsk deposit of Transbaikalia. Present collection.

2. Ammosov, I. I. Study of the variability of the petrographic composition of the Serebrennikovsky seam, 1936 (manuscript). Tomsk, Industrial Institute.

3. Dorofeev, P. I. Fundamentals of the geology of Kuzbass. Novosibirsk, 1936.

4. Ergolskaya, Z. V. Microscopic structure of certain Jurassic coals of Kuzbass. Proceedings of the All-Union Geological Prospecting Association, 1933, issue 340.

5. Zhemchuzhnikov, Yu. A. General geology of caustobioliths, 1935.

6. Korzhenevskaya, E. E. On the petrographic characterization of the Vorkuta deposit. Chemistry of Solid Fuel, 1936, issue 8.

7. Lyuber, A. A. Comparative petrographic characterization of the seams of the Karaganda Basin, 1933.

8. Naumova, S. N. Petrographic characterization of the Kamchatka Cretaceous coals from Cape Astronomichesky. Chemistry of Solid Fuel, 1936, issue 8.

9. Naumova, S. N. Petrographic characterization of the Kamchatka Tertiary coals of Podkagernaya Bay. Chemistry of Solid Fuel, 1936, issues 9–10.

10. Radchenko, G. P. The Leninsky district. Mineral Resources of Western Siberia, vol. III, 1935. Tomsk.

11. Yavorsky, V. I., and G. P. Radchenko. A geological-industrial outline of the Kolchugino coal deposit of the Kuznetsk Basin. Proceedings of TsNIGRI, 1934, issue 26.

12. Kumpan, S. V., et al. Materials on the synonymy of coal seams of the Kemerovo district, 1936.

13. Zerndt, I. Les megaspores du bassin houiller Polonais, Krakow, 1934.

14. G. Sprunk and R. Thiessen. Spores of certain american Coal. Fuel etc. 1934, No. 10.

APPENDIX 1

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 4.

Fig. 5.

Fig. 6.

Fig. 1. Large (97–100 μ) pollen of cordaites—Magis kryshtofovichi Am., with a simple ring structure. Maksimovsky seam (×700).

Fig. 2 and 3. The same; Fig. 2—Serebrennikovsky seam, Fig. 3—Geolkomovsky seam (×400 and 480).

Fig. 4. The same, with a double ring. Major diameter equals 60 μ. Maksimovsky seam, sample No. 15 (×700).

Fig. 5. The same. Maksimovsky seam. Major diameter equals 92 μ (×400).

Fig. 6. The same, with a double ring. The inner ring is segmented. Krasnoorlovsky seam. Major diameter equals 97 μ (×500).

APPENDIX II

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 5.

Fig. 6.
Fig. 7.
Fig. 8.

Fig. 9.
Fig. 10.
Fig. 11.

Fig. 1. Occa ussovi Am. Diameter 27–28 μ. Baikaim seam, sample No. 10 (×700).

Fig. 2. Coarsely tuberculate tree spore of medium size (27–31 μ). Seam XI Podzhurinsky, sample No. 17 (×700).

Fig. 3. Occa parva n. sp. Finely tuberculate tree spore of small size (25 μ). Dalny seam, sample No. 14 (×700).

Fig. 4. Same. Dimensions of the tree spore are 26–28 μ. Zhurinsky seam, sample No. 8 (×700).

Fig. 5. Small (17–21 μ), granulated tree spore. Zhurinsky seam, sample No. 8 (×700).

Fig. 6. Occa korovini Am. The spore has long finger-like ornaments. Its dimensions are 33–40 μ. Maksimovsky seam, sample No. 15 (×700).

Fig. 7. Occa maxima n. sp. Large (length—47 μ, width—34 μ). Spore with coarse sculpture. Seam XI Podzhurinsky, sample No. 17 (×700).

Fig. 8. Occa maxima n. sp. Large, coarsely tuberculate spore. Baikaim seam, sample No. 10 (×700).

Fig. 9. Spore close to O. maxima. Its dimensions along the long axis are 44 μ, and along the short axis 40 μ. An rim bearing coarsely tuberculate ornaments along the periphery is present. Seam I Podzhurinsky, sample No. 1 (×700).

Fig. 10. Large (43 μ), but finely tuberculate spore. Seam I Podzhurinsky, sample No. 4.

Fig. 11. Spore resembling a shell valve. Its dimensions along the long axis are 39 μ, along the short axis—23 μ. Zhurinsky seam, sample No. 6 (×700).

APPENDIX III

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 4.

Fig. 5.

Fig. 1. Large (95 and 83 μ) saccate pollen (?) of the genus Faba. The ratio of length (80 μ) to width (70 μ) is less than normal. Zhurinsky seam, sample No. 6 (×700).

Fig. 2. Saccate pollen (?) of the genus Faba, large in size. The ratio of length (80 μ) to width (50 μ) is normal. Baikaimsky seam, sample No. 10 (×700).

Fig. 3. Saccate pollen (?) of the genus Faba, medium in size. The ratio of length (54 μ) to width (45 μ) is considerably less than normal. Zhurinsky seam, sample No. 6 (×700).

Fig. 4. Saccate pollen of the genus Faba, medium in size. Normal ratio of length (50 μ) to width (21 μ). Seam I Podzhurinsky, sample No. 4 (×700).

Fig. 5. Same. Length 35 μ, and width 22 μ. Seam XI Podzhurinsky, sample No. 17 (×700).

APPENDIX IV

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

Fig. 1. Pollen of cycads of the genus Gomphus. Length 73 μ, width 41 μ. Zhurinsky seam, sample No. 7 (×700).

Fig. 2. Pollen of cycads of the genus Gomphus. Length 54 μ, width 36 μ. Podzhurinsky seam, sample No. 6 (×700).

Fig. 3. The same, small-sized. Length 31 μ, width 20 μ. Krasnoorlovsky seam, sample No. 13 (×700).

1. I did not have at my disposal analyses of vitrite from the very lowest seams of the Leninsky deposit. ↩