US-Czech Research on Plant Taphonomic Character of Intermontane Carboniferous Floras

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INT 9513189 Gastaldo This U.S.-Czech paleobotanical research project between Robert Gastaldo of Auburn University and Zbynek Simunek of the Czech Geological Survey will examine Carboniferous plants of the Bohemian Massif as represented in geologic deposits of three intermontane basins of the Czech Republic. The intent is to compare the characteristics of these deposition environments with lowland coastal floras of peat swamps and clastic substrate plant assemblages found in the Mississippian-Pennslyvanian stratotype section of the Appalachians which are well known to the U.S. participants. The comparative work will draw heavily upon a large fossil plant collection extracted from boreholes over past decades by the Czech Geological Survey. The intent is to interpret these data sets within dispositional context. Results of this cooperative study should contribute to our knowledge of the taphonomic conditions of Carboniferous floras in the intermontane basins of the United States. This is significant because most Euramerican strata were subjected to wide-scale fluctuations in eustatic sea level. In contrast, samples from the Bohemian Massif offer examples of continuous disposition within intermontane basins. A comparative understanding of the sedimentological and floras aspects in these basins is expected to yield valuable new information on paleoclimate change and vegetational responses during an area spanning the Namurian (Late Mississippian) into the Autunian (Late Pennsylvanian-Early Permian). This will provide an opportunity to assess Carboniferous vegetation change over this geological interval in a setting outside coastal influences. Additionally, results may provide practical insights concerning the origin of sulfur and ash in coal beds as well as coal bed methane potential in intermontane basins, in general. This project in paleobotany and paleoenvironmental research fulfills the program objective of advancing basic scientific knowledge by enabling leading experts in the United States and Eastern Europe to combine complementary talents and pool research resources in areas of mutual interest and competence. ??