| Field Trip Description: This field trip will examine various outcrops of Texas lignite deposits associated with the Eocene sediments of the Gulf Coastal Plain. Because lignite is easily weathered in the wet, coastal climate most deposits occur as “subcrops” anywhere from 15 to 40 feet below the ground surface, thus limiting the availability of exposures. We will make two specific stops, 1) the Lake Somerville spillway channel to observe the Bad and the Ugly (fluvial settings). A special poster presentation will be held at the first stop to discuss the characteristics of the lignite deposits along the “coastal lignite trend”. This will include discussions of an east Texas fluvial system, South Hallsville lignite, a central Texas deltaic system, Gibbons Creek lignite, and a south Texas coastal barrier island system, San Miguel lignite. Participants will be able to collect and evaluate an abandoned-channel lignite and a flood-plain lignite at the Somerville spillway site. Following the Somerville stop we will travel to the second stop, 2) an open-cast lignite mine operated by ALCOA, at Rockdale, Texas. The Sandow Mine, Texas Permit 0001, — The Good — is in a deltaic system. The Sandow visit will include a tour of the open mine trench and observation of the mining and reclamation technology as well as the power plant and aluminum processing operations. Hard hats and a collection of assorted rock hammers, sample bags will be provided for the trip. Take as many samples as you can pack in your bags. |