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The author presents examples of coal deposits two different continents: from the European Carboniferous and the Permian Gondwana sequence of Australia. The organic and petrographic composition of the coal content of palaeo-environmentally well defined groups of sediments allow the discrimination of two coal facies indices as suitable indicators for distinct settings. Combining the analytical methods of coal petrography, sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy an integrated view of coal formation is attained.

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By combining the principles of coal petrology, sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and basin analysis, the book treats coal facies as a response of the organic source material to the combined influences of its geological setting. The book offers new insights into coal formation and presents coal facies analysis as a tool in palaeo-environmental analysis.

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