A lenticle of organic matter in a piece of dolomite rock embedded in Triassic sandy mudstone of Core 547B-35 (DSDP Leg 79) was identified as inertinite-rich coal by organic petrography and analytical pyrolysis. About 95% of the organic matter recognized under the microscope consists of pyrofusinite, degradofusinite, and inertodetrinite. Gaseous hydrocarbons evolved during pyrolysis are rich in methane and are characteristic of inertinitic material. The organic matter is suggested to be a piece of redeposited Permian Gondwana coal.
Supplement to: Mukhopadhyay, Prasanta K; Spiro, Baruch; Rullkötter, Jürgen (1984): An inertinite-rich coal lenticle in Triassic sediment of sample 547B-35, CC, Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 79. In: Hinz, K; Winterer, EL; et al. (eds.), Initial Reports of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, Washington (U.S. Govt. Printing Office), 79, 493-495