INTERACTIVE ORGANIC PETROLOGY WEB ATLAS FOR COAL AND SHALE

Organic petrography and other related disciplines are in need of updated online resources and educational tools to aid professionals and students in the identification and interpretation of macerals in coal and shale. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Organic Petrology Laboratory has compiled thousands of digital photomicrographs of organic matter in coal, shale, and other rocks acquired during USGS research studies since 2002. This compilation of images has resulted in the development of the following five web atlases that contain images of organic matter in geologic materials: (1) an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Atlas, (2) an Organic Petrology Taxonomy for International Classification (OPTIC) of Coal Macerals Atlas, (3) an Interactive Gulf Coast Photomicrograph (I-Map) Atlas, (4) an Organic Material in Shales (Shale) Atlas, and (5) an interactive Blue/White/Ultra Violet (UV) Light Atlas (Light). The USGS Organic Petrology Photomicrograph Atlas is accessible to the public at the following website: http://energy.usgs.gov/Coal/OrganicPetrology/PhotomicrographAtlas.aspx.

Each web atlas is unique in how the images are organized and presented, but they all contain sample (e.g. location, rock type, sample depth) and petrographic data with each photomicrograph, to provide further information and details for web users. The USGS Organic Petrology Photomicrograph Atlas website preserves and distributes petrographic data for coal and shale samples from around the world. The development of these webpage atlases will continue to evolve and expand as new online tools and resources become available. The USGS welcomes feedback to ensure that the atlas webpages meet the needs of our customers.