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Charles L. Rice

Publications and source records attributed to Charles L. Rice.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1994

High-precision 40Ar/39Ar age spectrum dating of sanidine from the Middle Pennsylvanian Fire Clay tonstein of the Appalachian basin

40 Ar/ 39 Ar plateau age spectra of seven sanidine samples from the Fire Clay tonstein (Middle Pennsylvanian), collected along a 300-km traverse in the Appalachian basin, range from 310.3 to 311.4 Ma. All plateau ages agree, within the limits of analytical precision, with their respective total gas ages. This agreement, together with the reproducibility between samples, suggests the analyzed samples did not contain any significant contaminant feldspar. The mean of these seven plateau ages, 310.9 ± 0.8 Ma, is interpreted to represent a precise numerical estimate of time of eruption and deposition of this tonstein and the coal bed in which it is found. The lack of any discernible difference between the age of two samples of the Fire Clay tonstein collected from east of the Pine Mountain thrust fault, along with the age of five samples from west of this fault, suggests that the Fire Clay tonstein has been reliably correlated with a tonstein on the Cumberland overthrust sheet. This correlation, together with the age data presented in this paper, indicates that the Pine Mountain thrust fault must be younger than the 310.9-Ma age obtained for the Fire Clay tonstein. The Fire Clay tonstein is biostratigraphically correlated with the Trace Creek Shale Member of the Atoka Formation in the Midcontinent of North America and with a position near the Westphalian B-C boundary in Western Europe. Our age of 310.9 ± 0.8 Ma for the Westphalian B-C boundary represents a well-constrained point, useful for the numerical refinement of the geologic time scale.

Kentucky, West Virginia↗
USGS1994

Revised correlation chart of coal beds, coal zones, and key stratigraphic units in the Pennsylvanian rocks of eastern Kentucky

This report revises Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-1188 (Rice and Smith, 1980). Major revisions to the original correlation chart include formal naming of key marine units in Kentucky and replacement of informally named marine units incorrectly projected into Kentucky from adjacent states. Also included in the report is the proper correlation of some regionally recognized coal bed names that have been incorrectly projected into Kentucky, particularly from Ohio and West Virginia. Besides these additions and corrections, minor changes have been made to the correlation chart, all of which are discussed below in detail. The Pennsylvania rocks of the eastern Kentucky coal field underlie an area of about 27,000 square kilometers (see index map). Largely because of the size and stratigra[hic complexity of the area, Huddle and others (1963, p. 31) divided the coal field into six coal-reserve districts. District boundaries utilize state and county line as well as geologic features, drainage areas, and coal producing areas. Their division is followed herein because, in general, each of the districts has a characteristic stratigraphic nomenclature, particularly with regard to coal bed names. The six districts are the Princess, Licking River, Big Sandy, Hazard, Southwestern, and Upper Cumberland River district is divided into the Middlesboro and Harlan subdistricts. The correlation chart lists most of the stratigraphic units of Pennsylvanian age used in eastern Kentucky, and is concerned principally with coal bed names used in publications since about 1950, especially all of the names of coal beds for which resources and reserves have been calculated. Coal constitutes only a small percentage of the total Pennsylvanian-rock sequence, but is present in as many as 26 major coal zones that have been prospected and mined extensively in all parts of the coal field since the early 1900's. Coal names listed in this chart represent coal beds that have been mined commercially or used locally by residents of the area. Not every coal bed listed under a district in the chart is found in all parts of that district, nor has every coal bed been given a name. For the sake of saving space, coal beds commonly identified as a "rider" coal bed (commonly a minor coal or split above the main bed) or as a "marker" coal bed (a minor coal below the main bed) are not included in the chart because they do not contribute to the overall stratigraphic framework of the coal field. Most of the stratigraphic units listed in the correlation chart are defined and described in detail in almost 200 geologic reports of the Geologic Quadrangle (GQ) Map Series of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). These maps were published as a result of the cooperative geological mapping program of the USGS and the Kentucky Geological Survey; which was begun in 1960 and was completed in 1978. The GQ maps, at a scale of 1:24,000, describe the lithology and local stratigraphy and identify many coal beds by noth local and regional names. Other sources of stratigraphic information and coal bed names used in the construction of the chart include USGS bulletins dealing with the coal resources of single 7.5-minute quadrangles (Englund, 1955; Adkinson, 1957; Welch, 1958; Bergin, 1962). The coal resources of eastern Kentucky as a whole have been described by Huddle and others (1963) and detailed reports on the stratigraphy and coal resources of significant areas in eastern Kentucky have been made by Huddle and Englund (1966) and Englund (1968). An additional source of coal bed names is the SEAMS database, which is jointly sponsored by the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, the Kentucky Geological Survey, and the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals. The SEAMS database identifies the stratigraphic position and location of all coal beds in the eastern and the western Kentucky coal fields as well as those of bordering areas in adjacent states. The databases includes references to all coal-bed names used in Kentucky, especially those shown on coal company mine maps. Local names of coal beds in the database file that are not generally used in publications are listed in table 1 together with their regional equivalents.

Kentucky↗
USGS1984

Sandstone units of the Lee Formation and related strata in eastern Kentucky

Most of the Cumberland Plateau region of southeastern Kentucky is underlain by thick sequences of quartzose sandstone which are assigned for the most part to the Lee Formation. Much new information has been gathered about the Lee and related strata as a result of the cooperative mapping program of the U. S. Geological Survey and the Kentucky Geological Survey between 1960 and 1978. This report summarizes the age, lithology, distribution, sedimentary structures, and stratigraphic relations of the sandstone units of the Lee within and between each of three major outcrop belts in Kentucky: Cumberland Mountain, Pine Mountain, and the Pottsville Escarpment area. The Lee Formation generally has been regarded as Early Pennsylvanian in age and separated from Mississippian strata in Kentucky by an unconformity. However, lithostratigraphic units included in the formation as presently defined are broadly time-transgressive and range in age from Late Mississippian in parts of the Cumberland Mountain outcrop belt to Middle Pennsylvanian in the Pottsville Escarpment area. Members of the Lee intertongue with and grade into the underlying Pennington Formation and overlying Breathitt Formation. Sandstone and conglomeratic sandstone members of the Lee of Mississippian age found only in parts of the Cumberland overthrust sheet are closely associated with marine rocks; Pennsylvanian members are mostly associated with continental coal-bearing strata. Sandstone members of the Lee are mostly quartz rich and range from more than 90 percent to more than 99 percent quartz. They are relatively coarse grained, commonly pebbly, and in places conglomeratic. The units are southwest-trending linear or broadly lobate bodies. The Lee Formation is as much as 1,500 ft thick in the type area in Cumberland Mountain where it has been divided into eight members. The Pinnacle Overlook, Chadwell, White Rocks Sandstone, Middlesboro, Bee Rock Sandstone, and Naese Sandstone Members are mostly quartzose sandstone and conglomerate. The Dark Ridge and Hensley Members are mostly shale, siltstone, thin-bedded silty sandstone, and coal. The lower three of these members, the Pinnacle Overlook, Chadwell, and White Rocks Sandstone, are assigned to the Upper Mississippian Series because they intertongue with marine reddish or greenish shale and siltstone of the Pennington Formation or equivalent strata that contain a Late Mississippian fauna. The overlying quartzose sandstone members of the Lee commonly have coalified plant remains and impressions of plants and are Early to Middle Pennsylvanian in age; they are generally associated with terrestrial shale and siltstone containing coal beds and pinch out eastward into subgraywacke, siltstone, and shale. Although marine members commonly are bimodal, resultant transport directions for both marine and terrestrial members are southwesterly as determined by crossbedding. Thickness variations of the Middlesboro Member in the Cumberland overthrust sheet suggest that it represents tills of at least three major southwesterly trending paleovalleys. Thickness variations of the Bee Rock Sandstone Member east of Rocky Face fault and the combined Bee Rock and Naese Sandstone Members west of Rocky Face fault suggest that these members represent tills of at least two major southwesterly trending paleovalleys. East of Rocky Face fault, the Bee Rock is generally the uppermost member of the Lee; west of the fault, the overlying Naese is at the top. The Naese may range in age from Early to Middle Pennsylvanian and is partly or wholly equivalent to the Rockcastle Sandstone member of the Lee Formation in the area of the Pottsville Escarpment. The Mississippian-Pennsylvanian systemic boundary in the area of the Cumberland overthrust sheet in most places has been placed at an unconformity at the base of the Middlesboro Member; locally it is projected at the base of shales of the underlying Dark Ridge Member or equivalent strata in the Penningto

Professional Paper↗
USGS1980

Correlation of coal beds, coal zones, and key stratigraphic units in the Pennsylvanian rocks of eastern Kentucky

The Pennsylvanian rocks of the eastern Kentucky coal field unlderlie an area of about 27,000 square kilometers (see index map). Largely because of the size and stratigraphic complexity of the area, Huddle and others (1963, p. 31) divided it into six coal reserve districts (unofficial), utilizing state and county lines as well as geologic features, drainage areas, and cola producing areas. This division is followed herein because, in general, each of these districts has a characteristic stratigraphic nomenclature, particularly as related to coal bed names. The six districts shown on the index mat, are the Princess, Licking River, Big Sandy, Hazard, Southwestern, and Upper Cumberland River; the Upper Cumberland River district has been divided into the Harlan and Middlesboro subdistricts.

Kentucky↗