Statistical analyses of chemical data obtained from 685 coal samples have been carried out to determine the distribution of coal quality in the Alberta plains. Distributions of components of proximate and ultimate analyses and heating value for each of the major Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary coal-bearing units, namely Belly River Group, Wapiti Formation, Horseshoe Canyon Formation, and Scollard Formation, were investigated.

A least-squares regression analysis of all data, regardless of formation, of calorific value, CV (Kcal/kg), corrected to a moist mineral matter free basis, on equilibrium moisture, MEQ, yielded the equation

CV = 7599-105.58 MEQ.

The maximum depth of coal seam burial, D (meters), was reconstructed on the basis of published graphs relating equilibrium moisture loss to depth of burial of coal seams. The resulting equation was

log_[10]MEQ = 1.865-0.000416(D).

This equation facilitated reconstruction of both the maximum paleotopographic elevation and the amount of sediment removal from the plains area of Alberta. Near surface coals (shallower than 300 m) varied in rank from subbituminous to high volatile bituminous C, with rank increasing in a west-southwest direction (i.e., toward the foothills and mountains region) because of the progressively greater amounts of overburden that existed in that direction during Tertiary time. Erosion has since removed between 880 and 1,900 m of sediment, with the greatest amount of removal occurring in a west-southwest direction. An average coalification gradient of 1.67 of Kcal/kg/m (0.91 BTU/lb/ft) was determined by using the reconstructed overburden.

End_of_Article - Last_Page 614------------