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Coal deposits - origin, evolution and present characteristics
170 ECONOMIC GEOLOGY James Henderson Tatsch, 1980. Coal Deposits - Origin, Evo/ution and Present Characteristics. Tatsch Associates, Sudbury, MA, 590 pp., U.S. $156.00. Ce livre important, & la fois par le volume (590 pp.) et par le prix, est relativement d~cevant et ceci pour trois raisons principales: (1) la mauvaise qualit~ de I'impression et de la typographie avec de trop nombreuses fautes non corrig~es; (2) la grande faiblesse des illustrations o~ I'on ne trouve pratiquement pas de coupes ni de cartes g~ologiques de d~pbts houillers; (3) enfin, I'existence de chapitres entiers r~serv~s aux conceptions de I'auteur sur la tectonique g~n~rale et o~ il n'est pratiquement pas question du charbon, du moins directement. Ceci ~tant pr~cisd, on trouve dans ce volume des descriptions parfois int~ressantes et d~taill~es mais trop souvent de valeur in~gale selon les zones g~ograpbiques. Voyons maintenant le d~tail des chapitres. Le premier Chapitre donne une introduction g~n~rale sur I'origine, la nature, la constitution et les propri~t~s des charbons; I'ensemble est parfois int~ressant mais souvent sommaire. Le second Chapitre consid~re les ressources de la plan(~te prises globalement par pays ou grandes r~gions en les reliant aux vestiges des ceintures 'seismotectonomagmatiques' (SMT). On y retrouve les tableaux g~n~raux qui sont d~sormais classiques dans ce domaine et reproduits maintes fois dans la presse sp(~cialis~e; malheureusement, aucune carte, aucun grephique n'aide & la lecture du texte. Dans les Chapitres 3 et 4 I'~volution thermique, m~canique et chimique de la plan~te est,retrac~e depuis I'origine. La tectonique des plaques est Ionguement discut~e et juggle insuffisante. On y apprend que les ceintures 'SMT' sont en activit~ depuis 4,6.10%. Les roches de la plan~te sont s(~dimentaires pour les 2/3 mais la moiti~ est postjurassique avec 5% seulement pour le Pr~cambrien. La distribution serait de type Iog-normale. Le Chapitre 5 ne traite que des 'SMT' et des charbons du Pr~cambrien mais presque tout le texte est hors-sujet et r~serv~aux gneiss et au granite. Les d~p0ts organiques
ne sont mentionnds bri~vement qu'en fin de chapitre avec les d6pbts grephitiques du S.W. du Groenland (2.109 a), lescharbonsalgaires du Michigan (milieu du Protdrozoi'que) et ceux de I'lle aux Ours (Spitzberg) de ra fin du O~vonien. Le Chapitre 6 est consacr~ aux d~p0ts du Pal~ozoi'que et il est donc tr~s important (125 pp.). Chaque continent est consid~rd s~pardment et pour chacun d'eux la liste des gisements est donn~e par ordre alphabdtique. Cependant le niveau des informations est tr~s in~gal: ainsi 18 pp. pour I'lnde, 1 p. pour I'Allemagne. Pas une seule carte ni une seule coupe de gisement n'est pre~ent~e. On passe sans transition de I'origine tectonique (SMT) aux r~serves, ~ la production, parfois aux qualit~s mais on a I'impression d'une compilation sans rigueur. Les Chapitres 7 et 8 concernent le M~sozoii:lue puis le Cdnozoi'que et prdsentent tes m~me qualit~s et ddfauts. Certaines descriptions sont donndes, I'~num~ration paraft complete, les cartes sont plus nombreuses mais toutes orientdes sur la tectonique globale sans Iocalisation des gisements d~crits. Le Chapitre 9 pr~sente une synth~se sur la distribution des bassins. C'est, ~ mon avis, le plus int~ressant. On note: I'existence de 2100 bassins dont 7 gdants (>500.1090, les 5 premiers dtant en URSS: 4 moyens (200--500.1090 et 210 petits (0.5-200). La rdpartition par continents donne: 58% Asie, 30% Am~rique du Nord, 8% Europe, 1% Afrique. G~ologiquement, 47% des rdserves sont au Paldozoi'que et 53% sont postdrieures. Le Carbonifdre est surtout reprdsentd en Europe et ~ I'Est des USA (95% desr~serves), le Permien est surtout present en Asie, le Trias en Australie (83% des r~serves), le Jurassique en Asie sovi~tique (95% des r~serves: Lena, Kansko-Achinsk, Irkoutzk), le Crdtacd dans la ceinture Pacifique. Tectoniquement enfin, on trouve 70% des bassins (les majors) dans les d~pressions marginales des plateformes, 20% dans les avant-fosses et 10% disperses dens les plateformes. Le Chapitre 10 sert ~ introduire I'idde que le module 'tectonosphdrique' plandtaire de I'auteur peut servir ~ I'exploration du charbon. Enfin un appendice vient expliquer ce qu'est ce "r'ectonospheric earth model', La bibliographie est importante, int~res-
171 sante sur de nombreux points et particuli~rement g~n6reuse pour I'auteur. B. Alpern, Orleans
L.Y. Chaballe, L. Masuy and J.-P. Vandenberghe (compilers). 1980. Elsevier's Oil and Gas Dictionary. In six languages: Eng(ish/ American, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and German, with an Arabic Supplement by S. Salem. Elsevier, Amsterdam, xii+674 pp., US $139, Df1.285. There is a real need for a multi-lingual dictionary of oil and gas terminology, and this dictionary will largely satisfy this need. The Basic Table gives the English/American entries (not always in that ordeH) while separate Indexes list the entries in French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and German, with an entry number that refers to the Basic Table. This is a satisfactory arrangement, similar to that used in the Royal Geological and Mining Society of The Netherlands' Geological Nomenclature (1959; 2nd ed., 1980), and these two dictionaries complement each other. There is also an Arabic Supplement, the alphabetical index of which would have been easier to use if it had been collated as a normal Arabic dictionary, in conformity with the page layout, beginning with "Alif on the back page. Dictionaries, of course, require the user to have some knowledge of the languages he uses: they are to help him understand a word or phrase when reading a foreign language and to help him to the right word when writing a foreign language. Some of the entries are hardly proper English/ American (anticlinal fault, synclinal fault,
gap in plane bedding, sync/inal bend, suction pression). Some of the synonyms are inaccurate (bottom water is not the same thing as ground water; effective porosity is not the same thing as actual porositw parallel throw is not same thing as stratigraphic hiatus; blow out is rather more than flowing; mud boy is not an engineer). Of the synonyms, the commonest is not always first for example, argil; clay - and one fears that a Spaniard might translate arcillas abisa/es as abisma/ argils/ Some of the groupings include more than one concept - -
and it would have been useful to separate them. There are some incorrect translations (he/ling van de /aag does not mean dip of the fault; an appraisal well is not an exploretieboring or exploratieboorput; bottoms up is much more specific than remont~e de/a
boue, subida de/ Iodo, risalita de/ fango, opstijging van de spoe/ing. Aufsteigen der (Bohr)sp(Jlung). There are some terms (such as allotriomorphic) that relate solely to igneous petrology and could well have been omitted. Of the abbreviations, it is a pity that the common but illogical use of bbl for one barrel has been continued, leading to bbls/d instead of bbl/d for more than one b//d. There are several words that could have been included with advantage (assembly, extreme line casing, stinger, pipe dope, secondary porosity rather than secondary permeability, stand, long stand, short stand, wall sticking, and kick in the rotary drilling context). While the compilers are to be congratulated on a successful outcome to a mammoth task, there is little doubt that this dictionary would have benefitted from a wider collaboration, with each language vetted by a native with international oil field experience. The dictionary is well produced and easy to read (except for the Arabic, which has not printed well in my copy). Those in and around the petroleum industry will find it a valuable aid, and it is recommended to the libraries of companies and government agencies, and to all those who work in more than one language. R .E. Chapman, Brisbane
Paul L. Russell, 1980. History of Western Shale. The Center for Professional Advancement, East Brunswick, N .J., 152 pp., £stg.24.00.
Oil
This book spans 65 years of the 'illustrious' history of the development of western oil shale from the early activity, starting with the 'Great Land Rush', to current activities. It is a comprehensive, accurate, and detailed review of the technical and financial problems of the early days as well as those of today.
ne sont mentionnds bri~vement qu'en fin de chapitre avec les d6pbts grephitiques du S.W. du Groenland (2.109 a), lescharbonsalgaires du Michigan (milieu du Protdrozoi'que) et ceux de I'lle aux Ours (Spitzberg) de ra fin du O~vonien. Le Chapitre 6 est consacr~ aux d~p0ts du Pal~ozoi'que et il est donc tr~s important (125 pp.). Chaque continent est consid~rd s~pardment et pour chacun d'eux la liste des gisements est donn~e par ordre alphabdtique. Cependant le niveau des informations est tr~s in~gal: ainsi 18 pp. pour I'lnde, 1 p. pour I'Allemagne. Pas une seule carte ni une seule coupe de gisement n'est pre~ent~e. On passe sans transition de I'origine tectonique (SMT) aux r~serves, ~ la production, parfois aux qualit~s mais on a I'impression d'une compilation sans rigueur. Les Chapitres 7 et 8 concernent le M~sozoii:lue puis le Cdnozoi'que et prdsentent tes m~me qualit~s et ddfauts. Certaines descriptions sont donndes, I'~num~ration paraft complete, les cartes sont plus nombreuses mais toutes orientdes sur la tectonique globale sans Iocalisation des gisements d~crits. Le Chapitre 9 pr~sente une synth~se sur la distribution des bassins. C'est, ~ mon avis, le plus int~ressant. On note: I'existence de 2100 bassins dont 7 gdants (>500.1090, les 5 premiers dtant en URSS: 4 moyens (200--500.1090 et 210 petits (0.5-200). La rdpartition par continents donne: 58% Asie, 30% Am~rique du Nord, 8% Europe, 1% Afrique. G~ologiquement, 47% des rdserves sont au Paldozoi'que et 53% sont postdrieures. Le Carbonifdre est surtout reprdsentd en Europe et ~ I'Est des USA (95% desr~serves), le Permien est surtout present en Asie, le Trias en Australie (83% des r~serves), le Jurassique en Asie sovi~tique (95% des r~serves: Lena, Kansko-Achinsk, Irkoutzk), le Crdtacd dans la ceinture Pacifique. Tectoniquement enfin, on trouve 70% des bassins (les majors) dans les d~pressions marginales des plateformes, 20% dans les avant-fosses et 10% disperses dens les plateformes. Le Chapitre 10 sert ~ introduire I'idde que le module 'tectonosphdrique' plandtaire de I'auteur peut servir ~ I'exploration du charbon. Enfin un appendice vient expliquer ce qu'est ce "r'ectonospheric earth model', La bibliographie est importante, int~res-
171 sante sur de nombreux points et particuli~rement g~n6reuse pour I'auteur. B. Alpern, Orleans
L.Y. Chaballe, L. Masuy and J.-P. Vandenberghe (compilers). 1980. Elsevier's Oil and Gas Dictionary. In six languages: Eng(ish/ American, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and German, with an Arabic Supplement by S. Salem. Elsevier, Amsterdam, xii+674 pp., US $139, Df1.285. There is a real need for a multi-lingual dictionary of oil and gas terminology, and this dictionary will largely satisfy this need. The Basic Table gives the English/American entries (not always in that ordeH) while separate Indexes list the entries in French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and German, with an entry number that refers to the Basic Table. This is a satisfactory arrangement, similar to that used in the Royal Geological and Mining Society of The Netherlands' Geological Nomenclature (1959; 2nd ed., 1980), and these two dictionaries complement each other. There is also an Arabic Supplement, the alphabetical index of which would have been easier to use if it had been collated as a normal Arabic dictionary, in conformity with the page layout, beginning with "Alif on the back page. Dictionaries, of course, require the user to have some knowledge of the languages he uses: they are to help him understand a word or phrase when reading a foreign language and to help him to the right word when writing a foreign language. Some of the entries are hardly proper English/ American (anticlinal fault, synclinal fault,
gap in plane bedding, sync/inal bend, suction pression). Some of the synonyms are inaccurate (bottom water is not the same thing as ground water; effective porosity is not the same thing as actual porositw parallel throw is not same thing as stratigraphic hiatus; blow out is rather more than flowing; mud boy is not an engineer). Of the synonyms, the commonest is not always first for example, argil; clay - and one fears that a Spaniard might translate arcillas abisa/es as abisma/ argils/ Some of the groupings include more than one concept - -
and it would have been useful to separate them. There are some incorrect translations (he/ling van de /aag does not mean dip of the fault; an appraisal well is not an exploretieboring or exploratieboorput; bottoms up is much more specific than remont~e de/a
boue, subida de/ Iodo, risalita de/ fango, opstijging van de spoe/ing. Aufsteigen der (Bohr)sp(Jlung). There are some terms (such as allotriomorphic) that relate solely to igneous petrology and could well have been omitted. Of the abbreviations, it is a pity that the common but illogical use of bbl for one barrel has been continued, leading to bbls/d instead of bbl/d for more than one b//d. There are several words that could have been included with advantage (assembly, extreme line casing, stinger, pipe dope, secondary porosity rather than secondary permeability, stand, long stand, short stand, wall sticking, and kick in the rotary drilling context). While the compilers are to be congratulated on a successful outcome to a mammoth task, there is little doubt that this dictionary would have benefitted from a wider collaboration, with each language vetted by a native with international oil field experience. The dictionary is well produced and easy to read (except for the Arabic, which has not printed well in my copy). Those in and around the petroleum industry will find it a valuable aid, and it is recommended to the libraries of companies and government agencies, and to all those who work in more than one language. R .E. Chapman, Brisbane
Paul L. Russell, 1980. History of Western Shale. The Center for Professional Advancement, East Brunswick, N .J., 152 pp., £stg.24.00.
Oil
This book spans 65 years of the 'illustrious' history of the development of western oil shale from the early activity, starting with the 'Great Land Rush', to current activities. It is a comprehensive, accurate, and detailed review of the technical and financial problems of the early days as well as those of today.