Netizens joked that in the winter of 2022, Europe may have to burn coal and for the winter.
The status of coal resources today is far inferior to that of previous ones, but it is still one of the important energy sources of humans . People are also constantly asking for coal from nature.
Humans still cannot live without coal
How rich are the largest coalfield reserves in the world? The coal seam is 1 kilometer thick and extends for thousands of kilometers, which is so large that you can't imagine.
Appalachian Coalfield
It is the world's famous Appalachian Coalfield , located in the eastern part of the United States.
Appalachian Coal Field is located in the Appalachian Mountains
The entire coal field is about 1200 kilometers long, about 50~300 kilometers wide, and has an astonishing thickness of 1 kilometer.
Among them, the area containing coal alone reaches .18 million square kilometers , which is the main production area of coal resources in the United States.
Appalachian coalfields are spread throughout the nine states of the United States, like a huge monster sleeping in the land of the United States.
Before the Civil War, the United States' economy was still very backward, and developed countries such as Europe needed coal as energy for industrial production.
The two sides hit it off and the United States sold a large amount of coal to promote the sustainable development of the domestic economy.
US coal distribution
Even if a large amount of coal is sold, the reserves of Appalachian coal fields are still rich in and . There are still continuous mining teams digging coal to this day.
As early as 1750, the Appalachian coal field began to produce coal, and the coal production in the coal field accounts for more than half of the world, and after the 19th century, it maintained an annual record of 400 million tons.
According to data sent back by the US resource detection satellite, the total coal reserves (minable + non-mined) in the Appalachian coalfield are about 1310 billion tons of .
and the world's coal reserves are only 13.6 trillion tons.
Appalachian coalfield is already comparable to the total coal reserves of some medium-sized coal-producing countries, which is amazing.
What makes people curious is what geographical advantages it has to form such a large coal field.
Special coal seam
The formation of coal fields
The main reason for coal formation is that after the death of higher plants , the body is buried underground and gradually corroded through biological decomposition.
In a closed underground environment, due to the conditions of high temperature and high pressure , a series of physical and chemical changes have occurred inside.
has formed a coal layer after tens of millions of years of accumulation.
coal seam formation
coal formation process is extremely long, so people have also included it in the ranks of non-renewable resources.
Archaeologists explained that the formation of Appalachian coalfields can be traced back to Carboniferous , and most of the world's coal formation was during that period.
formed three layers of underground coal in the early, middle and late stages of the Carboniferous Period.
Among them, the coal resources formed in the late Carboniferous period were the most abundant and were the main source of mineable coal mines in Appalachian coalfield.
In the early Carboniferous period, the original ferns and moss obtained a good growth environment by chance, evolved into more advanced plants, laying the foundation for the rise of higher plants.
Plants are under pressure to become coal seams
There are not many advanced plants that evolved in the early stage, and even the original forests have not been fully formed, and they are mainly based on primitive moss and other plants.
Therefore, the early days only set a tone for the emergence of coal strata.
Until the middle period, large areas of primeval forest appeared on the earth. In addition, the abundant precipitation during the Carboniferous period, most plants were soaked in water. Once the tree died, it would sink to the bottom of the water, and the branches and rhizomes would soon rot.
At that time, the mainland had not been separated yet, so archaeologists called it Pangu mainland .
Pangu Continent
Therefore, the plants spread very quickly, and almost in the middle and late stages, they were spread throughout the continents.
Archaeologists estimate that when vegetation is most prosperous, its coverage rate reaches about 96%.
So much vegetation has given birth to the earth with a high concentration of oxygen environment , creating a "Giant Worm Era" .
At that time, the centipede was 2 meters long, and the dragonfly spread its wings and was 1 meter wide. The legendary Titan python was also born in this era.
Giant Vein Dragonfly
At the same time, the vegetation in Appalachian coalfield is particularly rich, and it is very likely to be a closely connected super primeval forest. The vegetation in it is far beyond people's imagination.
After that, giant insect fossils unearthed near the Appalachian coalfield also confirmed the possibility of forest existence, and the second layer of coal was generated.
Giant spider fossil
With the evolution of time, the vegetation closeness near Appalachian coalfields is still increasing, laying the groundwork for the emergence of the third layer of coal.
Why is it said that the third layer has the most coal?
The reason is that an unprecedented fire occurred at the end of the Carboniferous Age, and the flames burned for 30 years, destroying countless vegetation. During
, all vegetation near Appalachian coalfields was damaged, but they did not burn out, but retained most of the combustible materials.
In this way, a large number of trees collapsed, forming the largest coal layer.
The tall coal mountain
Three layers of coal are closely linked together, creating a wonder in the world .
The formation of Appalachian coalfield is like God's favor.
Advantages of Appalachian Coalfield
This coalfield not only has reserve advantages, but also has unparalleled characteristics in coal production.
The coal produced in the Appalachian coal field is of high quality and is deeply loved by coal buyers. In the world market, the coal produced in the Appalachian coal field has almost become a brand, and the price is higher than other coals.
High-quality coal blocks
In terms of mining, due to the lifting effect of the earth's crust, the coal mines in this area are buried shallower , which is convenient for mining.
At present, the vertical depth of the mine cave in Appalachian coalfield will not exceed 100 meters, which also means that this coalfield has great potential in the future.
In terms of safety, there are fewer faults in Appalachian coalfield, fewer gases in , and stable geological structures in , and fewer accidents occur.
Appalachian Coalfield
In order to deeply explore the value of Appalachian coalfield, the US government has built roads locally and developed various industries.
Now, the Appalachian coalfield has become one of the important industrial areas in the United States, an integrated industry integrating steel, electricity and machinery fields.
The importance of this coal mine to the United States is self-evident.
With the shortage of resources in the world, the United States has stopped exporting coal and used Appalachian coal fields for its own use.
Although it is indeed enviable to have such a world-renowned coal field, China does not have a lot of coal resource reserves.
China's coal
China's proven coal reserves rank fourth in the world, and coal mine resources are widely distributed, and there are many high-quality coal mine sites.
These coals can fully meet the development of my country's industrial and other related fields, and the coal mines mined every year have a surplus for export.
Coal seam
However, with the development of new energy field, the disadvantages of coal resources are gradually revealed.
From all aspects, the low price of coal, high transportation costs, unsatisfactory efficiency of production capacity, and particularly bad environmental pollution, have led to the decline of the status of coal.
Shanxi, once a major coal-producing province, has now stopped mining in the province and is developing towards ecologicalization.
New energy is a development trend in the future world and an inherent requirement of the earth's ecological environment.
China has abandoned coal as energy material in many fields and instead developed new energy technologies. Among them, nuclear fusion technology is breaking through difficulties, and I believe it will appear in the public's vision soon.
Nuclear fusion principle
And the United States seems to be still "conserving the old industry" and vigorously developing coal-based old-fashioned industrial . Although their industrial development has nothing to do with us, the earth belongs to everyone. In the context of global climate warming , reducing the use of coal is the wisest choice.
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