Paleodrainage Characteristics of the Permian Members C and D in Huainan Coalfield, China

The Huainan Coalfield, covering an area of more than 8000 km₂. is concealed by the Quaternary system and the main coal-bearing strata are Permian Members C-D. By the investigation of more than 5000 bores and surveying of undergroud tunnels of the coal mines in the research district, many characteristics of the paleodrainage have been acquired as follows: 1. By undergroud surveying of the main channel sandstones of the members C-D, it is shown that during their deposition the paleocurrent direction is southward. 2.The paleodrainage of the Permian members C-D have two forms, the branched channel system (in member C) and the anastomosing channel system (in member D). The channels composed the drainages are very stable and fail to lateral migration. 3. The results of grainsize analysis and the C-M pattern of the same genetic increment demonstrates that the paleostream flown from north to south, and the south side is more near to the sea. 4. The characteristics of sedimentology and sedimentary geochemistry indicate that the t;ne sediments of member C which deposited in the branched channel system contain much more of the tidal sediments, bur- rows, and Lingula sp. etc. The content of the trace element B. B; Ga and Ca (Fe+Ca) are higher than that of member D To sum up the characteristics discussed above and analyze by means of Walther's Law of correlation of fades. and compare with the drainage on the modern Pearl River, the authers propose that the paleodrainage of the members C-D is more similar to that on the modern Pearl River Delta, that is to say, it can be divided into two parts, the anastomosing fluvial system near the continent and the branched fluvial system close to the sea. It is recognized that the paleodrainage discussed m this paper is different from that on the Mississippi River Delta and’or on the Yangtze River Delta. that could he account for which discussed' in this p:ner is a complex delta formed together by several continental streams, the low-medium thal range and the Coriolis Force exist in the history of the Earth.