Vegetation differences and diagenetic changes between two Bulgarian lignite deposits - Insights from coal petrology and biomarker composition

During the Miocene numerous sedimentary basins formed on the territory of Bulgaria as a result of the extensional tectonic settings related to the post-orogenic development of the late Alpine orogen. In this study, we review the petrographic composition and biomarker assemblage of two adjacent basins in western Bulgaria, i.e. Beli Breg and Staniantsi basins. Both contain lignite formed during late Miocene (c. 6 Ma). Despite similar tectonic settings and depositional environments, the lignite seams possess different petrographic and organic geochemical characteristics, reflecting differences in the peat forming palaeo-communities and fades variations. The peat-forming vegetation in Bell Breg Basin was dominated by decay resistant coniferous plants, as indicated by abundant fossil wood remains, very good tissue preservation and a biomarker assemblage dominated by diterpenoids. In contrast, Staniantsi lignite is poor in fossil wood and contains a significant amount of triterpenoid biomarkers, suggesting the predominance of angiosperm plants in the swamp. The results of the biomarker analyses are consistent with palaeobotanical and palynological data from the literature. The lignite seams in both basins formed under frequently changing Eh conditions, as indicated by the severe degradation of the non-gymnosperm tissues, the low gelification index values and the variations in pristane/phytane ratio, probably as a result of seasonal drying of the swamps and changes of the ground water table. Hopanoid contents in Bell Breg lignite are very low and are consistent with the abundance of decay-resistant vegetation. In contrast, bacterial activity was obviously higher in the Staniantsi swamp, however, resulting only in slightly enhanced gelification of plant tissues. The geochemical data suggest that the diagenetic changes of the organic matter were mainly governed by thermal degradation, rather than bacterial activity. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.