Palynological Analyses of Several Pennsylvanian Coal Beds from Santa Fe County, New Mexico

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Palynologicalanalyses ol several Pennsylvanian coalbeds lromSanta Fe Gounty, New Mexico byBobert M. Kosankeand Donald A Myers,U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, C0 80225

Introduction erallv offsetbv manv northwest-strikinemi which resulted in a soluble portion (saltsof Samplesof two Pennsylvaniancoal beds nor iaults whbse diiplacement, ,ur,guYro- humic acids)and an insoluble portion (pre- were collectedfrom the Sandia Formation, a few inches to less than 5 ft. The coal bed served botanic ingredients). The second Glorieta quadrangle, Santa Fe County, for is badly shearedand occursin a fault block sample(696-8) was treatedin a similar man- palynologicalanalysis to ascertainwhether in which the bedding is nearly vertical. The ner, but did not yield a satisfactorvassem- they were of Morrowan or Atokan age. The sample was assigned to maceration 696-8 blage of palynbmorphs initiaily. The first samplewas collected1,320 ft due north and USGSPaleobotanical loc. no. D6663,and macerationprocess was repeatedseveral times of BM 6610,on the south side of a ravine, it was subsequentlvreassisned to D6663-E on this sample. Ultimately, palynomorphs approtmately 500 ft west of the Atchison, when additional productive"sampleshad been were freed from the matrix. and an oilv sub- Topekaand SantaFe railroad tracks. It was collected.To the west of the above locality, stancethat covered the surface of th-ema- taken from Sutherland and Harlow's (1.973) the SandiaFormation is in fault contactwith ceration beaker was released. Both section93, bed 19,and was assignedto ma- Precambriangranite (granite gneiss of Booth, macerationswere screenedusing a 210-mesh ceration696-A, USGSPaleobotanical loc. no. 1977;Embudogranite of Budding, 7972)along Tyler screen.The fine fraction containing the D6662.The sample consists of 6 inches of Booth's (7977) Apache Canyon fault, which smallspores and pollen grainswas mounted bone coalat the baseof a brown fissileshale is an extension of Budding's (1972)Garcia in balsam. sequencethat overliesa thin seatrock and a Ranchfault. To the eastand south, the San- brown micaceousshale. dia Formationis in fault contactwith the San- The secondsample was takenfrom an area gre de Cristo Formation (Wolfcampian) and Palynology and coal petrology northeastof section93 (describedabove) on the Yeso(?)Formation. We concluded that, palynologically, these the south sideof GalisteoCreek, east of the two coal beds are Atokan, or close to the railroadtracks. This localityis approximately Atokan-Desmoinesianboundary. We based 2.5 mi northeastof Lamv. 3 mi southwestof Sample preparation this conclusion on the presenceof several Canoncito,and 13mi souih-southeastof Santa Maceration696-A (D6662)readily yielded speciesof Laeaigatosporites(Table 1) in both Fe (Fig. 1). The sample was collected2,493 palynomorphs,but becauseof the high non- macerations596-Aand 596-8. The genus first ft N30'E from BM 6610in the abandonedbed coalcontent, it was treatedwith HCI and HF occurs in the Reynoldsburg Coal Member of an old wagon trail, at approximately6,780 to remove carbonatesand silicates.This (Pennsylvanian)of Illinois (basalAbbott For- ft elevation,in a southwest-drainingravine treatment was followed with Schulze'sso- mation : Atokan) and in the upper part of that drains into GalisteoCreek. At this lo- lution, which contains one part of a satu- the New River Formation in the proposed cality, the entire outcrop of the Sandia For- rated aqueoussolution of KCIO. and three Pennsylvanian System stratotype of West mation lies in an area approximately 700 ft partsof cold HNO3 (90%),to partially oxidize Virginia. However, the presenceof L. medius Iong from north to south and 100 ft wide the coaly material. This partially oxidized Kosanke in both sets of New Mexico coal from west to east. These rocks were origi- samplewas washed with H,O until a pH of samplessuggests a slightly younger age be- nally assignedto the YesoFormation by Booth approximately7 was obtained. The sample cause the first occurrenceof this taxon in (1977).Beds within the outcrop area are lat- was then treatedwith a 10%solution of KOH. West Virginia is in the basal part of the Kan-

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1 O 4okm O 30mi FIGURE 2-Three coalescingcolonies of Botryococcuscf. B. brauniiKritzing from FIGURF,l-Geographic areawhere samplesfor this investigation were maceration 696-8rr (D6663-E), slide 6, and microscope coordinates 98.5 x 7.7. collected;X refers to approximate sample locations. The maximum overall diameter is 63 mlcrons.

August 1986 New MexicoCeology awha Formation. Differences between paly- TABLE 1-Comparison of palynomorphs ex- nomorph assemblages in macerations 696-A tracted from the two coal beds from the Sandia and 696-8 may be the result of better recov- Formation, Glorieta quadrangle, Santa Fe County. erv and preservation in maceration 696-A. These samples were assigned laboratory macera- c and USGS Paleo- o Wi: do not believe the two samples are widelv tion numbers 696-Aand 696-8 botanical loc. nos. D6662 and D6663-8, respectively. ; separated stratigraphically. The taxa identi- o X indicates presence of taxon; 696-Ais 6 inches of E fied from macerations 696-A and 696-8 are bonv coal; 6Se-S is badlv sheared coal in a fault given in Table 1. o blocl in which the bedding is nearly vertical. L The reason for the release of the oily sub- f t m stance in maceration 696-8 is the common Taxon 696-A 696-8 (r. occurrence of the alga Botryococcuscf . B. brau- o nii Kitzing, which produces large amounts Acnnthotriletes triquetrus Smilh o of oil. The bodv of Botraococcusis a free-float- and Butterworth o (Horst) ing colony thai is encloied by a cartilaginous Ahrensisporitesguerickei Potoni6and Kremp (Fig. and hyaline envelope 2). Apiculatisporisabditus (Loose) Sample 696-8 can be considered a sapro- Potoni6and Kremp pelic coal because it is composed of finely Botryococcuscf. B. braunii 06663-E degraded plant residue with a low anthrax- Kiitzing (6s6-B) ylon (wood) content. Such coals are formed Calamosporabreztiradiata Kosanke c D6663-D .9 (8to-A) under stagnant anaerobic conditions and C. mutabilis(Loose) Schopf, ts contain abundant spores, pollen grains, or Wilson, and Bentall Y o D6663-C Y (8ro-B) algae. There are three primary types of sap- C. paraaGuennel E ropelic coals: cannel, boghead, and torban- C. rP' o )-oeess-s Cyclo gr anisporites aureus (Loose) \ (8lo-c) ite. Cannel coal is characterized LL by an Potoni6and Kremp D6663-A abundance of spores and a small amount of C. multigranusSmith and (8ro-D) anthraxylon; megascopically it has a dull lus- .9 Butterworth E ter and conchoidal fracture. Boghead coal is Densosporit esannulatus (Loose) c similar in physical appearance to cannel coal, Schopf,Wilson, and Bentall o @ but it contains an abundance of algae. Tor- Dic tyot r ileI es casl a neacfor m is banite coal is equivalent to boghead coal be- (Horst) Sullivan cause it contains abundant algal remains, but Endosporitessp. Florinitesantiquus Schopf in it is actually a highly carbonaceous shale. Its Precombrion Schopf,Wilson, and Bentall XX name was derived from Torbane Hill in Scot- foult Florinitessp. land. Gr anulat ispor it es pallidus The coal sample maceration 696-8, which Kosanke contains abundant specimens of Botryococ- Laeuigatospor it es d esmo i nensis ==: I cils, cannot be classified as a true boghead (Wilsonand Coe) Schopf, Srllstone Limestone Cool coal becauseit contains eouallv abundant Wilson, and Bentall x sporesand pollen grains. Kosanke (1951)de- l. lafasKosanke l-H4 L. mediusKosanke Seol Sondv Bone scribed a fype of boghead coal from the Tarter rock limestbne cool Coal Member of the Abbott Formation (lower L. oztalisKosanke Leiot r iletes pr idrly i (Berr y) half of the Atokan Series) in Illinois that mav Potoni6and Kremp FIGURE 3-Stratigraphic section showing posi- be similar to the New Mexico Botryococcus-beartngbeds, USGS paleobo- coal sample. A Lophotril etes gibbosus (Ibrahim ) lion of 40-inch-thick sample of this coal from west- Potoni6and Kremp tanicalloc. nos. D6663-A-E. Macerationsamples ern Illinois contained abundant specimens of Lycospora granulata Kosanke 810A-C are impure,bony coal. Botryococcusin the top 2-2.5 inches of the coal L. sp. 1 bed and a normal complement of spores and L sPp. botanic ingredients in the remainder of the Raistrickincf . R. priscaKosanke coal. The coal bed from New Mexico is sheared R. sp. 1 product of extreme variation in colony-form R. sp. 2 and distorted so that thickness and orien- of Botryococcus. Reticula tisp or it es reticula tus tation of the bed are obscured. Because both Because the occurrence of Botryococcusis (Ibrahim)Ibrahim XX spores and algal remains are reasonably rather unusual, we decided to collect addi- Vestisporaf enestrata (Kosanke) abundant, perhaps this New Mexico coal Spodeln Smith and tional coal samples below the original ma- (maceration 696-8) is partly normal coal and Butterworth ceration (696-8). These additional samples partly sapropelic coal. Stach et al. (1975, p. V. tortuosa(Baime) Spode rn were assigned to maceration series 810 as 236) reported that "It is assumed that bog- Smith and Butterworth shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Two other samples heads were deposited mainly towards the z sP. were collected approximately 1,580 ft south- centers of small swamp lakes, the cannels Monosaccate x west of the boghead deposits from Suther- more toward the lake margins." Unassigned land and Harlow's (1973) units 31 and 39 in Botryococcusis an extant alga and, as such, the Glorieta quadrangle. All samples as- is a living fossil. B. braunii Kutzing is a plank- signed to the 810 maceration series yielded tonic alga that is widely distributed, al- Botryococcusas well as spores and pollen though rarely abundant, in lakes of the United land, South Africa, Alaska, and other parts grains. The assignment of paleobotanical col- States and is sometimes found in Dermanent of the U.S., and Pennsylvanian boghead de- lecting numbers and maceration numbers is or semipermanentpools (Smith, 1933).The posits or tlpes of boghead deposits are known shown in Fig. 3. The presence of Botryococcus question of whether or not the Paleozoic forms from Pennsylvanian, Kentucky, Illinois, and in the seat rock and throughout the coal sug- of Botryococcusshould be assigned to the ex- now from New Mexico. Thiessen (1925\ rc- gests a somewhat similar environment of tant species B. braunii has long been debated ported Botryococcusfrom Mississippian, deposition for these samples. (seeBlackburn and Temperly, 1936; Kosanke, Pennsylvanian, and Permian deposits as well Maceration 808, USGS Paleobotanical loc. 1951;and Traverse, 1955). as some modern sapropelic occurrences. no. D67I5, is a coal bed sample from Suth- Fossil material identified as Botryococcushas Schopf (1949) interpreted differences in ap- erland and Harlow's (1973) section 93, unit been reported from Australia, Fiance, Scot- pearance of Botryococcus-likegenera to be a

Nm Mexico Geology Algust 7985 Four additional samples were collected be- Booth,F O ,lII, 1977, Geologicmap of the GalisteoCreek low maceration 696-8 and assigned to ma- area, Lamy to Cafloncito, Santa Fe County, New Mex- ico: U S Geological Survey, MiscellaneousField Stud- cerations810 A-D (Fig. 3). All of these samples ies Map MF 823,scale 1:12,000 contained Botryococcus, which suggests a Budding,A J ,7972, Geologicmap of the Glorietaquad- somewhat similar environment of deposition rangle, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Mines and to that of maceration 696-8. Finallv. two other Mintral Resources,Geologic Map 24, scale1:24,000 Kosanke, R M 1951,A type of boghead coal from Illi- sampleswere collected from Sutherland and , nois: American Journal of Science,v 249, pp 4M-450 Harlow's (1973) section 93. These were from Kosanke,R M ,1,973,Palynological studies of the coals units 31 (maceration 808) and 39 (maceration of the Princess Reserve district in northeastern Ken- 809). Maceration 809 contains Torisporasecuris tucky: U.S Geological Suruey, ProfessionalPaper 839, 22 pp (Balme) Alpern, 11.9741 Doubinger, and Horst, which Kosanke,R M, 1984,Palynology of selectedcoal beds indicates that the age of the sample is middle in the proposed Pennsylvanian System stratotype in Desmoinesian. In order for maceration 809 WestVirginia: U S Geological Survey, ProfessionalPa- to be part of the middle Desmoinesian Se- per 1318,4a pp [1985] Schopf, M Cannel,boghead, torbanite, oil shale: ries, the J ,1949, section must either be foreshor- EconomicGeology, v 44, no 1.,pp 68-71. tened or displaced by a fault. Smith, G M ,7933, The fresh-wateralgae of the United ACKNOWLEDGMENTS-Wewish to acKnowl- States:McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York edge the help provided by B. . LeMaster and and London, pp 721-1.35 f Stach, E Mackowsky, M -Th Teichmriller, M, Taylor, Mary Ellen Zayhowski who prepared the , , G M, Chandra, D , Teichmr.iller,R; translationby samples and assisted in the preparation of Murchison,D G, Taylor,G H, and Zierke,F, 7975, FIGURE4-Outcrop of 810maceration series, USGS the illustrations. AIso, thanks are expressed Stach'stextbook of coal petrology: Gebnider Borntrae- paleobotanicalloc. nos. D6663-A-D. SeeFig. 3 to Dr. R. William Baxendale, Amoco Pro- ger, Berlin and Stuttgart,428 pp for measuredsection of this outcrop.The staffin Sutherland,P K andHarlow, F H Pennsylvanian duction Company, Denver, Colorado; Frank , ,1,973, collecting site D6663-D is 5 ft long brachiopodsand biostratigraphy in southern Sangrede Campbell, New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Cristo Mountains, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau Mineral Resources, Socorro, New Mexico; and of Mines and Mineral Resources,Memoir 27, pp 130- "132 Dr. John H. Hanley, USGS, Denver, Colo- Thiessen,Reinhardt, 1925, Origin of bogheadcoals: U S 31. This sample yielded only two palyno- rado, for kindly reviewing the manuscript. Geological Survey, ProfessionalPaper 1,32-1,pp 727- morphs: Laeaigatosporiteslatus Kosanke and 138 Calamosporasp. Maceration 809, USGS Pa- References Traverse,Alfred, 1955,Occurrence of the oil-forming alga Botryococcusin lignites and other Tertiary sediments: Ieobotanical Blackburn,K B, andTemperly,B N, 1936,Botryococcus loc. no. D6776, section 93, unit Micropaleontology, v 1, no 4, pp 343-350 tr 39 of Sutherland and Harlow (1973) are and the algal coals: Royal Society of Edinburgh Trans- plant- actions, v 58, pp 841-868 bearing shales (their "lignite"). This maceration yielded an interesting assemblage of palynomorphs including a number of specimens of Torispora securis (Balme) Alpern, Doubinger, and Horst. Kosanke (1973) reported that Torisporasecuris was present in northeast Kentucky from the Princess No. 5 coal bed through the Princess No. 9(?) coal Halley'sGomet bed. This dishibution includes the upper part of the Breathitt Formation up to and including the base of the Conemaugh Formation. Kosanke (1984)reported that Torisporasecuris occurs from the top segment sample of the Stockton ooal bed in West Virginia and throughout all of the coal beds of the Charleston Sandstone in the proposed Penn- sylvanian System stratotype. Thus, the range zone of this taxon in West Virginia starts near the top of the Kanawha Forniation. This and other information suggests that the occurrence of Torisporasecuris in maceration 809 from New Mexico is indicative of a stratigraphic position toward the middle of the Desmoinesian Series.

Summary

The palynomorph assemblagesof the two coal beds sampled from the Sandia Forma- tion suggestthat they are Atokan, or close to the Atokan-Desmoinesianboundary. One of these samples, maceration 696-6, contained an alga-Botryococcuscf B. braunii Kutzing. This algais a colonialform that pro- duceslarge quantities of oil. B. cf. B. braunii hasbeen reported from the Tarterand Willis CoalMembers (Abbott Formation)of Illinois. The stratigraphic occurrence in Illinois is Halley'sComet as seen from Socorro, New Mexico, on April 5, 1986.Photograph byDanny Bobrow and Gary somewhatsimilar to the one in New Mexico. Johnoeer.

August 1986 New MexicoGeology