PETROLOGICAL, PALYNOLOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF EUREKASOUND GROUP COALS (STENKUL FJORD, SOUTHERN ELLESMERE ISLAND, ARCTIC CANADA)

Late Paleocene/Early Eocene coal-bearing strata are widespread across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Laterally continuous seams of substan tial thickness are present in the Iceberg Bay Formation, Eureka Sound Group, at Stenkul Fiord, Ellesmere Island. Sixty-four coal seams with a cumulative thickness of 53 m of coal occur in a 450 m sequence. The investigation of the composite section is based on examination of 19 s amples from seams thicker than 1 m and 7 samples from marker seams use d for correlation purposes. The coals consist predominantly of wood-de rived huminite macerals (79-98 vol%). Structured huminite macerals are dominant in the top part of the section whereas detrital components a re abundant in the lower part. The liptinite fraction is dominated by sporinite and cutinite (1-9 vol%). Inertinite content is very low exce pt at the base of the section (0-14 vol%). Reflectances determined on eu-ulminite (0.36-0.43% R(o)), geochemical parameters, and Thermal Alt eration Indices indicate that the coals are of lignite to subbituminou s rank. The dominance of diterpanes and the abundance of Taxodiaceae a nd Pinaceae pollen suggest that most of the organic matter is of gymno spermous origin. Pinaceae pollen is abundant in the lower part of the section and Taxodiaceae is abundant in the upper part. The abundance o f angiosperm pollen in most of the section suggests, however, that ang iospermous plants were significant members of thc flora. The depositio nal environment for the Iceberg Bay Formation coals at Stenkul Fiord i s that of forested swamps on an alluvial plain. Pollen assemblagrs ind icate a Late Paleocene/Early Eocene age for the section, and a tempera te moist climate.