Abstract
I BELIEVE that coal is not only in itself worthy of more attention at the hands of the geologist than it has been generally accorded, but also is likely to repay that attention by shedding light on some of the major problems of geological science. Later, I shall revert to the conception of coal as a meta-morphic rock. The idea is ancient, but the data necessary for its establishment and more precise definition have been lacking. Perhaps they are now to hand. If that be so, we have in this familiar rock an indicator of crustal conditions far more delicate than any of the index minerals of the metamorphic petrologist; so delicate indeed, that should it come within range of even the lowest grade of metamorphism, as usually understood, it is completely shrivelled up and leaves only a trace of graphite as witness of its former self.
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Hickling, H. Some Geological Aspects of Recent Research on Coal. Nature 136, 817–819 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/136817a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/136817a0