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THE SOCIETY FOR ORGANIC PETROLOGY

NEWSLETTERVol. 33, No. 2 June, 2016 ISSN 0743-3816

33rd Annual TSOP Meeting A JOINT MEETING OF

TSOP - AASP - ICCP September 18 – 23, 2016

Houston, Texas USA

The Society for Organic Petrology, AASP-The Palynological Society and the International Committee for Coal and Organic Petrology

Vol. 33, No. 2 THE SOCIETY FOR ORGANIC PETROLOGY NEWSLETTER June 2016

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JOINT MEETING TSOP - AASP - ICCP

September 18 – 23, 2016

Houston, Texas USA

The Society for Organic Petrology, AASP-The Palynological Society and the International Committee for Coal and Organic Petrology

http://palynology.org/home-page-2016-joint-meeting-tsop-aasp-iccp/

The purpose of this joint meeting is to bring together a diverse group of scientists to discuss the close relationships between organic petrology and palynology, to foster thoughtful discussion and address

issues that may be of benefit to furthering the respective sciences. Key themes to be addressed during joint activities include source rock/source-rock reservoir resource assessment, microscope

methods of characterizing microporosity, coal characterization, and palynofacies/kerogen.

Organizing Committee: The local Organizing Committee consists of Thomas Demchuk (RPS), Jen O’Keefe (Morehead State U.), Thomas Gentzis (Core Laboratories) and Joe Curiale (Independent). Over the next several months as the technical and social programs are finalized, we will do our best to keep the societies and membership informed of new events, the associated costs, and deadlines. We look forward to a great joint meeting in September of 2016.

The Society for Organic Petrology


http://www.tsop.org/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.geotimes.org/current


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The Society for Organic Petrology Newsletter

ISSN 0743-3816, published quarterly

© 2016 The Society for Organic Petrology (TSOP)

GUIDELINES: The TSOP Newsletter welcomes contributions from

members and non-members alike. Readers are invited to submit items pertinent to TSOP members' fields of

study. These might include meeting reports and reviews, book reviews, short technical contributions including those on geologic localities or laboratory

methods, as well as creative works such as poems, cartoons and works of fiction. Photos, graphs and other illustrations are welcomed. Low-resolution images are

discouraged, as they cannot be reproduced well in print. Articles are preferred in Microsoft Word, RTF or plain

text formats.

Contact the Editor: Rachel Walker

e-mail: [email protected]

Address Changes Please report any changes in address or contact

information to: Paul Hackley, TSOP Membership Chair, [email protected]

Members can update their own information by logging

into the secure TSOP website: www.tsop.org/mbrsonly/

The TSOP Newsletter is published quarterly by The Society for Organic Petrology and is distributed to all

Society members as a benefit of membership. Membership in the Society is open to all individuals

involved in the fields of organic petrology and organic geochemistry. For more information on membership and

Society activities, please see: www.tsop.org

For purposes of registration of the TSOP Newsletter, a

permanent address is: The Society for Organic Petrology, c/o American Geological Institute,

4220 King St., Alexandria, VA 22302-1520 USA

Newsletter Submission Deadlines

September Issue: Sept. 5th, 2016 December Issue: Dec. 5th, 2016 March Issue: March 5th, 2017

June Issue: June 5th, 2017

CONTENTS Institutional/Corporate Memberships ....................... 4

Student Travel Awards .................................... 4

Annual Meeting Documents on the Website ........... 4

TSOP 2016 Joint Annual Meeting ................... 5

In Memoriam: Jack Burgess .......................... 10

New TSOP Members .................................... 12

How sweet thou smelled: Carboniferous Seed

Ferns ............................................................. 14

Calendar of Events ........................................ 15

2016 Ralph J. Gray Award ............................ 16

2016 Dalway J. Swaine Award ...................... 17

Mudstone Diagenesis Flyer ........................... 18



http://www.tsop.org/mbrsonly/

http://www.tsop.org/


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Institutional/Corporate Memberships

We’d like to make members aware that membership in TSOP is also open to any organization having an active scientific interest in organic petrology or related fields. TSOP especially encourages institutions to join at the special institutional rate of $75/yr and help support the goals of the Society. See the website for details: www.tsop.org/join.htm

is on

www.facebook.com/OrganicPetrology

Student Travel Awards PURPOSE The Student Travel Award is designed to support student attendance at the annual TSOP meetings. ELIGIBILITY The Student Travel Award is open to students who have submitted an abstract for presentation (either an oral or poster) at the annual TSOP meeting. AWARDS Monetary awards up to $750 (US) each will be granted. Monies will be sent to the awardees before the TSOP Annual Meeting. CONDITIONS Monetary awards are to be applied to expenses directly related to travel to attend a TSOP Annual Meeting. Funds should not be used to fund

research, purchase capital equipment, to pay salaries, tuition, room, or board during the school year. Students receiving the award will be required to provide receipts detailing travel spending to TSOP after the meeting has concluded. Copies of travel receipts should be sent as directed in the application. APPLICATION DEADLINE Completed applications must be e-mailed by July 15, 2016 to Rachel Walker at [email protected] For full details and the application form, please visit the website: www.tsop.org/Travel_award_apply.html

Annual Meeting

Programs, Abstracts and Photos Available on the TSOP website

The abstracts, photos and field trip guide from many past TSOP meetings are all now available on the TSOP website. Just login to the Members Only section of the website and select ‘Ann Mtg Documents’ from the left hand menu. A dropdown box will allow you to choose which meeting you are interested in. Select the item of interest and click ‘Display’!

http://www.tsop.org/join.htm

http://www.facebook.com/OrganicPetrology


http://www.tsop.org/Travel_award_apply.html


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JOINT MEETING TSOP - AASP - ICCP

The Society for Organic Petrology, AASP-The Palynological Society And the International Committee for Coal and Organic Petrology

September 18 – 23, 2016 Houston, Texas USA

FINAL CIRCULAR http://palynology.org/home-page-2016-joint-meeting-tsop-aasp-iccp/

We are pleased to present the final circular regarding this first historic joint meeting of these three related geological, geochemical and biological scientific societies. We have finalized our schedules of technical sessions including the Symposia and Theme Sessions, and further finalized the pre-meeting Short Course, and the two fieldtrips. The purpose of this joint meeting is to bring together a diverse group of scientists to discuss the close relationships between organic petrology and palynology, to foster thoughtful discussion and address issues that may be of benefit to furthering the respective sciences. Key themes to be addressed during joint activities include source rock/source-rock reservoir resource assessment, microscope methods of characterizing microporosity, coal characterization, and palynofacies/kerogen. The venue for this meeting will be the historic Magnolia Hotel in downtown Houston. The Magnolia was built in 1926 as the former Post-Dispatch Building. It was re-purposed in 2003 as The Magnolia Hotel, and further underwent a significant upgrade in 2009. The hotel is centrally located in downtown within walking distance of excellent restaurants and pubs. Over the past several years downtown Houston has undergone a major revitalization with many new office buildings, exciting arts and entertainment venues, and several world-class restaurants. We believe the downtown will provide exciting possibilities for every need and want. REGISTRATION FEES The following registration fees have been finalized for the meeting: Professionals

1. Full 5-day Registration: Early Bird (before Aug. 1st) US$300 After Aug 1st US$350 2. 3-day Registration: Early Bird (before Aug. 1st) US$225 After Aug 1st US$275 3. 1-day Registration: Early Bird (before Aug. 1st) US$100 After Aug 1st US$150



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Student Registration:

1. Full 5-day Registration: US$250 2. 3-day Registration: US$175 3. 1-day Registration: US$75

SHORT COURSE Saturday All-day Short Course: It is the pleasure of the Organizing Committee to present an all-day pre-meeting short course entitled, “Integration of microscopy and geochemistry in petroleum source rock evaluation”. The course will be taught by Dr. Richard Tyson (Getech, UK). The course will be presented in a classroom setting, and will emphasize the integration of microscopy and geochemistry to better understand and characterize source rocks in both conventional and unconventional exploration. The interpretation of both palynofacies and organic petrological data will be discussed. Additional details of the short course are being finalized and will be published in upcoming announcements. The costs for this full-day Short Course will be US$250 for professionals, and US$200 for students. This will include all class materials, lunch and coffee breaks through the day. At this time the class is limited to 40 people and a percentage of attendance will be reserved for students. Attendance will be based on a first-come, first-served basis.

SYMPOSIA/THEME SESSIONS After considerable discussion, a number of integrated Symposia and Theme Sessions have been finalized. These will include:

1. Special Session in Honor of Jack Burgess (TSOP Theme Session: Monday AM) 2. Microscope Methodologies in Recognizing and Characterizing Organic Microporosity (Joint

TSOP/ICCP Theme Session: Monday PM) 3. Palynofacies and Kerogen (Joint TSOP/ICCP/AASP Theme Session: Tuesday PM) 4. Multi-modal Characterization of Source Rocks, including Source-Rock Reservoirs (Joint

TSOP/ICCP/AASP Symposium: Wednesday All-Day) 5. Palynofloral Contributions to Source Rocks (AASP/TSOP/ICCP Theme Session: Thursday AM) 6. Additional AASP-sponsored sessions will include:

a. Alfred Traverse Symposium (Thursday PM) b. Guest Lecture on Forensic Palynology to open the Friday AM general session.

The list of Keynote Speakers has been finalized. For many of the proposed joint sessions, at least one organic petrography/geochemistry and one palynology Keynote Speaker will be present. All interested scientists will be strongly encouraged to contact us and propose to submit their abstract(s) for one or more of these Sessions and the all-day Wednesday Symposium. ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS All scientists of organic petrography and palynology are strongly encouraged to submit their abstract(s) to one or more of the Symposia, Theme and General Sessions. Abstract submissions opened on Sunday, May 1st, and the closing date for submissions will be Sunday, August 1st. Please see the Meeting webpage for Abstract submission guidelines.




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FIELD TRIPS Friday-Sunday Pre-Meeting Field Trip: This 2+ day field trip will visit Eagle Ford Formation outcrops in west Texas, and will be led by Barry Wawak (Manager of Reservoir Geology, Core Laboratories Houston). The field trip will depart on the afternoon of the Friday prior to the meeting, and return by Sunday late afternoon or early evening. The Eagle Ford Formation is a world-class source-rock reservoir resource in the subsurface of south Texas, and the accompanying strata have been researched extensively in stratigraphic, geochemical and biostratigraphic studies. The cost for this fieldtrip will be US$550 and will include the field guide, transportation by vans, two nights of accommodation, and two lunches. Dinners for the two evenings will be at the expense of the individual. The fieldtrip is not strenuous as most outcrops are along the highway, or a short distance from well-kept roads. Hiking boots and proper field equipment will be required. Safety equipment (hard hats, safety vests) will be provided.

Saturday Post-Meeting Field Trip: This will be a one-day excursion to Cretaceous through Eocene strata of east-central Texas. These strata are equivalent to the important Wilcox Formation that forms major reservoirs in the subsurface of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The field trip will leave early Saturday morning from the Hotel, and return early evening back to Houston.

The cost for this fieldtrip is US$80 and will include the field guide, transportation by vans, and lunch. The fieldtrip is not strenuous as most outcrops are a short distance from well-kept roads. Hiking boots and proper field equipment will be required. Safety equipment (hard hats, safety vests) will be provided. Photos from Dickey and Yancey (2010). SOCIAL EVENTS Multiple social activities of interest to all participants have been finalized and will take place at the hotel and nearby off-site venues. Monday PM Icebreaker: The Monday evening Icebreaker will take place on the rooftop patio of The Magnolia Hotel (weather permitting). The patio offers a great view of the Houston downtown skyline and sunset.


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Tuesday PM Happy Hour (TSOP/ICCP): On the Tuesday late afternoon, a Happy Hour will accompany an opportunity to view the posters that will be part of the technical aspect of the meeting. Drinks and finger food will be served and there will be sufficient opportunity to chat with authors about their poster displays. Conference Dinner: A conference dinner has been finalized at the nearby Sambuca Café, a couple blocks walk from The Magnolia Hotel, in the historic Rice Hotel. The Sambuca Café is well-known for its vibrant music scene and excellent food. The evening will include two free drinks, appetizers, and a three-course meal in a designer atmosphere, with live music for your listening enjoyment. Our special events area will allow access to an outdoor patio to allow for quiet conversation. The conference dinner will be US$75 per person.

Thursday PM Happy Hour (AASP/ICCP): A Thursday late afternoon Happy Hour will allow folks to enjoy the AASP poster sessions as part of the technical aspect of the meeting. Drinks and finger food will be served and folks will be encouraged to mingle with the authors and discuss their poster displays. In addition to all these events, attendees will have sufficient opportunity to enjoy the Houston downtown with its numerous world-class restaurants, and abundant drinking establishments. SOCIETY BOARD MEETINGS Along with the technical and social activities, the respective Societies will have their necessary Board of Directors meetings, and Business Luncheons. The current schedule includes: ICCP Council Meeting: Sunday September 18th 16:00-21:00 TSOP Council Meeting: Sunday September 18th 17:30-21:00 TSOP/ICCP Business Luncheon: Tuesday September 20th 12:00-14:00 TSOP Council Meeting: Tuesday September 20th 19:00-21:00 AASP-TPS Outgoing Board Meeting: Tuesday September 20th 19:00-22:00 ICCP Council Meeting: Thursday September 22nd 18:00-21:00 AASP-TPS Business Luncheon: Friday September 23rd 11:30-13:30 AASP-TPS Incoming Board Meeting: Friday September 23rd 17:00-18:30 TRANSPORTATION AND ACCOMMODATIONS Houston is a significant transportation hub and the Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is serviced by all major airlines from Europe and Asia. Both airports (IAH and HOU) are serviced by the major US-based airlines: IAH is a major hub for United Airlines, and HOU is a major hub for Southwest Airlines. All the major American airlines (e.g. Delta and American) fly into IAH numerous times through the day. All major European, Asian and Middle East airlines (e.g. KLM, British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, Singapore, Korean Air, JAL, Emirates, and Qatar Airways) fly once a day in and out of IAH. Transportation to and from the downtown area from both airports is available via taxi, shuttle, and MetroBus. A special meeting rate has been negotiated for meeting attendees with Houston Super Shuttle to provide van or Towncar transportation from either airport to The


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Magnolia Hotel (and return to the airport). Please visit the Meeting website and see the Transportation tab for further information on these services.

The Magnolia Hotel: Our current negotiated room rate at The Magnolia hotel is US$179/night (single occupancy). Double- and triple- occupancy will be priced accordingly. This room-rate includes:

a. FREE in-hotel/in-room Wifi b. Complimentary hot breakfast c. Late afternoon happy hour (complimentary beer/wine) d. Complimentary evening cookie buffet e. Reduced valet parking fees

Reservations may be made directly with The Magnolia Hotel at the website https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=13814522 . This website is also available through the Meetings website homepage. Additional details regarding the Hotel may be found at http://magnoliahotels.com/houston/magnolia-hotel-houston.php

Alternative Accommodation: A listing of alternative hotels in the downtown area will be made available upon request. ORGANIZING COMMITTEE The local Organizing Committee consists of Thomas Demchuk (RPS), Jen O’Keefe (Morehead State U.), Thomas Gentzis (Core Laboratories) and Joe Curiale (Independent). We look forward to a great joint meeting in September. If you should have any questions regarding the meeting, you may send an e-mail to [email protected]

https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=13814522



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In Memoriam

Jack Donald Burgess (16 July 1924 - 6 April 2016)

Jack Burgess at the Ice Breaker of the Louisville,

Kentucky TSOP Annual Meeting in 2005. Photo courtesy of Jim Hower.

Jack Donald Burgess, one of the early pioneers in applying microscopic analysis of organic matter to assess thermal maturity, passed away on April 6, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. Jack had a long career in palynology, petrology, and organic geochemistry spanning approximately 60 years. He graduated in 1949 from the University of Illinois having majored in geology with a minor in botany. In 1955 he earned a master's degree from the University of Missouri majoring in geology. His professional career began with Northern Pacific Railroad and Gulf Oil where he performed surface and subsurface mapping in Washington, western Montana, and North and South Dakota to identify drillable prospects. In 1957 he joined Carter Oil Company, which later became Humble Oil and later still Exxon and ExxonMobil as it is today. Jack established a palynological laboratory in Denver for their Rocky Mountain operations. In 1967 he transferred to the Humble Oil & Refining Company research center in Houston where he established the first vitrinite reflectance laboratory at a major oil company. With the laboratory in place Jack initiated research into study of particulate organic matter and its thermal maturity as it related to oil and gas fields. He also

developed an organic matter classification scheme most of which is in use today. Jack joined Gulf Oil, which later merged with Chevron in 1985, and performed petrographic and various geochemical analyses in most petroleum producing basins around the world. He established a domestic geochemistry laboratory in Houston in 1979 and also helped establish a geochemistry laboratory in Lagos, Nigeria. I first met Jack in 1982 when he was located at the Gulf Research Center in Harmarville, Pennsylvania, where he worked with many of the well-known names in geology and organic geochemistry such as David Demshur, Cliff Walters, Victor Jones, and David Jeffrey. After moving to Houston in 1980, Jack worked closely with the production division of Gulf/Chevron assisting in the identification of by-passed pay in the Permian Basin, for example. On July 15, 1992 Jack retired from Chevron and joined Humble Geochemical Services in August 1992. His addition to the staff at Humble Geochemical was a key point in the laboratory’s history as the addition of Jack and his microscopy work brought much additional business and prestige to the company. He was categorically instrumental in our work on the Barnett Shale in the Fort Worth Basin as the Mitchell Energy geologists wanted his analysis and input on their efforts. As such it is important to remember that Jack’s work spanned the entire field of geochemistry, not just microscopic analysis. Jack retired from Humble at age 85. After joining Humble Geochemical Jack’s residence was still in Sugar Land, and he commuted one hour each way to Humble to perform kerogen maturity and visual kerogen analysis. We offered to setup a microscope at his home, but he really wanted to be in the office interacting with lab personnel, geochemists, and clients. His daughter, Jami Roux, related to me that Jack was suffering from Parkinson’s in his final months, but he often told her ‘I need to go to work; Dan needs me’. What a precious memory for me and my colleagues at Humble. Some of you have heard the story of my exhibition of braggadocio when I received my twenty-year membership certificate from AAPG in 2005. Jack


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overhead my story and quickly produced a certificate that showed his last membership certificate to read 55 years! Needless to say, I’m not sure what happened to my twenty-year certificate, but it sure didn’t seem very impressive anymore compared to Jack’s lengthy career. Jack served industry and received numerous honors for his work and activities. He was president of the American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologist and President of The Society for Organic Petrology (as well as a founding member of the society in 1983). Jack was an organizer and convener of the Symposium of Thermal Maturation of Organic Materials as related to Hydrocarbon Generation and Migration in 1974. He also taught coal petrology at the University of Pittsburgh and was an invited lecturer at the Symposium on Biostratigraphy and Laboratory Standards in Stavanger, Norway. Jack received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists and in 2004 the John Castaño Award from TSOP. Among the many presentations and papers that Jack produced here are a few of my favorites: Burgess, J.D., 1974, Microscopic examination of kerogen (dispersed organic matter) in petroleum exploration, Geol. Soc. Special Paper 153, pp. 19-28. Burgess, J.D., 1974, Syllabus on Thermal Maturation of Organic Materials as related to Hydrocarbon Generation and Migration, Symposium Eighth Annual Mtg. Strat. Palynologists, 26 p. Burgess, J.D., 1977, Historical Review and Methods of Determining Thermal Alteration of Organic Materials, Proc. Am. Assoc. Strat. Palynologists, Vol. 1, p. 1-7. Burgess, J.D., 1990, Source and correlation of Cretaceous-Jurassic oils from East Texas, in D. Schumacher and B.F. Perkins, eds., Gulf Coast oil and gases - their characteristics, origin, distribution and exploration and production significance: 9th Annual Research Conference, Gulf Coast Section, SEPM Foundation, Proceedings, p. 283-296.

Burgess, J.D. and Wavrek, D.A., 1993, Morphological and Chemical variations within the species Gloecapsamorpha prisca: Southern Midcontinent and West Texas. TSOP Ann. Meeting, Norman OK. Jarvie D.M., and Burgess, J.D., 1993, Comparison of transformation rates and products generated at equivalent thermal exposure for a variety of end-member kerogen types. ACS, Div. of Geochemistry Meeting, Chicago, Ill. Burgess, J.D. and Lenz, R.J., 1994, Gas Chromatographic Identification of a "Backside" Oil Led to a Profitable Oil Well Completion in New Mexico. ACS, Div. of Geochemistry Meeting, San Diego, CA. Jack is survived by his beautiful wife of over 63 years, Elaine Ragan Burgess, and two wonderful daughters, Jami and Sandra. When you see me wearing a tie, think of Jack Donald Burgess as he would not go anywhere without a tie. Jack was old school, very dignified and honorable as was his life and career. As the TSOP Castaño Award reads “Jack Burgess is a man of many interests and his enthusiasm for earth science, microscopy and geochemistry is widely known and has influenced many people”. Count me among them. Dan Jarvie 11 April 2016


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New TSOP Members

Abbas Seyedolali

Dr. Abbas Seyedolali (University of Oregon) has been associated with the petroleum industry for over 16 years as a petroleum geologist and sedimentological petrographer employed by several majors (ExxonMobil, Westport Technology Center International, Shell and currently CHK). He has also published over 30 manuscripts and abstracts. Currently, Abbas is involved with leading organic petrology projects related to petroleum systems and basin and forward modeling at CHK.

Barbara Bielowicz

Dr. Bielowicz holds a PhD in Earth Sciences and Geology from AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environment Protection in Cracow (Poland), with a thesis “Scheme of a new technological classification of Polish low-rank coal according to international standards.” She has also published over 40 manuscripts and abstracts. Her publications focus on the relationship between random reflectance and the technological properties of lignite, petrographic composition in relation to gasification processes and the question of harmful trace elements in lignites.

Katherine Clarke Ms. Clarke is investigating the effect of thermal treatment on the pore network of the Montney Formation, a growing unconventional play in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Her MSc study at the University of Calgary will utilize a newly developed and adapted method of Rock-Eval, termed extended slow heating cycle pyrolysis (ESH), which is better suited for the pyrolysis of tight reservoirs.


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Ohio Valley Organic Petrologists Annual Meeting

Henderson, Kentucky, USA

The annual Ohio Valley Organic Petrologists meeting was held on Thursday, March 31st, 2016 in Henderson, KY. Among presentations given at the meeting were the following:

Severin Presswood - Geochemical and Petrographic Alteration of Rapidly Heated Coals from the Herrin (No. 6) Coal Seam, Illinois Basin.

Carley Gasaway - Applicability of Micro-FTIR in Detecting Shale Heterogeneity.

Agnieszka Drobniak - New Albany Shale photomicrographs atlas – Organic petrology and story map.

Yuan Teng - Maceral controls on porosity characteristics of lithotypes of high volatile bituminous coal.

Amberly Tobin - Coal waste utilization via the OHD process.

The length of presentations was approximately 25 minutes. This local meeting provides a great opportunity for scientists to meet and share research in an informal setting. It also provides students an opportunity for practicing presentations and gaining feedback on their thesis work.

Group photo of attendees for the 2016 Ohio Valley Petrographers Meeting. Photo courtesy of Cortland Eble.


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How sweet thou smelled: Carboniferous seed ferns

Erwin L. Zodrow, Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada José A. D’Angelo, IANIGLA-CCT-CONOCET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina Essential oils provide much of the characteristic aroma of living plants and contributed, and continue to contribute, a great deal to medicinal-pharmaceutical and commercial life (Adinew, 2014). These oils are an integral part of the secondary metabolites which constitute an enormously large number of complex compounds (Fahn, 1976; Chadwick and Whelan, eds., 1992; ed. M. Wink, 2010). But to smell the fragrance, relatively fresh or unoxidized plant parts are prerequisite. Think of peppermint tea leaves, herbs, grasses. But how do we ‘smell’ plants that lived 300 MA ago, are now extinct, and were diagenetically influenced during the complexities of preservation, from biopolymers to geopolymers? They left knowable chemical (aliphatics) remains from which aromas may be inferred for Carboniferous plant fossils. This aspect is mostly ignored by palaeobotanists despite the availability of so many investigative technologies of unprecedented capabilities down to atomic levels. Dr. Hans Bode, a German palaeobotanist (1929), authoritatively recognized such remains in the form of black dots, formerly labeled as sporangial or fungal remains, or iron-oxide particles, for what they really are: some form of bitumen, oils, resins, or waxes. In short, ethereal oils or something of that composition, i.e., lipid-related compounds. He furthermore illustrated the structural make-up of the secretory organ (Sekretiondrüse) using the extant flowering plant Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort) as a structural model. We have identified these organs in the cuticles of many Carboniferous plant groups that include lepidodendroids and sphenopsids in the Palaeobotanical University Collection, but of special interest are certain seed ferns. In effect initial SEM confirmed the light-microscopical interpretation that these black dots (30-60 microns in diameter) are

actually spherical in shape, and physical test results indicated that they are quite tough, brittle under point pressure, but insoluble in oxidative solution (Schulze’s maceration) as noted already by Bode. As initial conclusions, we have been able to distinguish the internal structure of a few microns in diameter in the cuticle through which the spheres passed from the actual fossilized droplets from lipoid solutions. These, on evaporation, carried the ‘essential plant aroma’ into the local Carboniferous swamp/forest atmosphere. Analysis of these droplets will reveal, we hypothesize, the chemistry from which to deduce the characteristic fragrance (‘eigenfragrance’).

Image: A 43 micrometer droplet in situ on a cuticle of Laveineopteris rarinervis (Bunbury). Sydney, Canada.

The likely presence of low concentrations of tannin-derived compounds (a chemical defense) in the leaves would also have contributed to the characteristic aroma of the plant. It can be hypothesized that the shed, crushed, and decomposing foliage may have conferred the soil and surrounding groundwater of the swamp (where plants decompose very slowly) a characteristic tea-like, yellow-brown hue, as well as a musty smell. This assumes, of course, comparative fragrance possibilities. More importantly, we hypothesize chemotaxonomic value. A multi-authored manuscript will be published in the future.


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References:

Adinew, B., 2014. GC-MS and FT-IR analysis of constrituents of essential oil from Cinnamon bark growing in South-west Ethiopia. International Journal of Herbal Medicine, 1(6), 22-31.

Bode, H. 1929. Sekretionsorgane bei Mariopteris latifolia Brgt. Jahrbuch der Preussischen Geologischen Landesanstallt, XLIX, Teil II, 795-800.

Chadwick, D.J., Whelan, J. eds., 1992. Secondary Metabolites: Their Function and Evolution. Ciba Foundation Symposium 171. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 318.

Wink, M. ed., 2010. Functions and biotechnology of plant secondary metabolites. 2nd ed., vol. 39, Wiley-Blackwell, New Delhi.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

www.tsop.org/events.html

August 8-12: International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, Cape Town, South Africa. See details at: http://www.engineering.pitt.edu/pcc/

August 27 – September 4: 35TH INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGICAL CONGRESS, Cape Town, South Africa. See website for details: http://www.35igc.org/

September 18-23: Joint Meeting of TSOP-AASP-ICCP in Houston, Texas, USA. This will be the 33rd Annual Meeting of TSOP. http://palynology.org/home-page-2016-joint-meeting-tsop-aasp-iccp/

September 23-28: Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, USA. http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2016/home

October 16-19: Mudstone Diagenesis, an SEPM-AAPG Research Conference. Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Theme: Implications for Exploration and Development of Unconventional Reservoirs. Deadline for Abstracts February 15, 2016. See flyer and website for details: www.sepm.org/MudstoneConference

Please send in meeting, short course and special event announcements to the Editor!

For more geology event information see AGI’s GeoCalendar at: www.americangeosciences.org/calendar

http://www.engineering.pitt.edu/pcc/

http://www.35igc.org/



http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2016/home

http://www.sepm.org/MudstoneConference

http://www.americangeosciences.org/calendar

Established 1984


2016 Ralph J. Gray Award Best Refereed Paper in Coal and Organic Petrography

presented to

O. Haeri-Ardakani and H. Sanei

“Dolomite fluorescence Red/Green quotient: A potential new thermal maturity indicator”

International Journal of Coal Geology, 2015, v.137, p. 165–171.

TSOP President TSOP Vice-President Shifeng Dai Thomas Gentzis

TSOP President TSOP Vice-President Shifeng Dai

Established 1984


2016 Dalway J. Swaine AwardBest Refereed Paper in Coal and Hydrocarbon Source Rock Geochemisty

presented to

Thomas Gentzis

C.A. Cravotta and K.B.C. Brady

“Priority pollutants and associated constituents in untreated and treated discharges from coal mining or processing facilities in Pennsylvania, USA”

Applied Geochemistry, 2015, v. 62, p. 108-130.

Implications for Exploration and Development of Unconventional ReservoirsLOCATION: Hilton Santa Fe Historic PlazaSante Fe, New Mexico Date: October 16-19, 2016

This conference will promote the exchange of new ideas among the leading experts from industry, academia, and government on the controls and impacts of inorganic and organic diagenesis on mudstone hydrocarbon generation, reservoir properties and seal quality.

• CallforAbstracts–December1,2015• DeadlineforAbstracts–February15,2016• RegistrationopensJune,2016

• StartingMaterials:recentsedimentsandthermally immaturerocks• MechanicalDiagenesis:compaction,fluidexpulsion andfracturing• InorganicChemicalDiagenesis:porosityand mechanicalpropertyevolution• OrganicDiagenesis:organicmatter-rock interactionsduringpetroleumgeneration• ToolsandTechniques:newadvancesandlimitations• OrganicMatter:bridgingthegapbetweenoptical &electronmicroscopicobservations

Wayne Camp (Andarko), Neil Fishman (Hess),Paul Hackley (USGS), Kitty Milliken (BEG—UT Austin)& Joe Macquaker (ExxonMobil)Email:[email protected]