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South Limburg and Adjacent Areas as a Part of the Former Microcontinent Avalonia

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Geology of Coal Deposits of South Limburg, The Netherlands

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Earth Sciences ((BRIEFSEARTH))

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Abstract

This chapter gives an overview of the plate tectonic processes which are at the basis of the deposition of coal layers in the South-Limburg area: the plants from which the coal was formed were of tropical nature, and thus the region was once located in a tropical climate. The position of this part of Europe in the tropics is due to the movement caused by plate tectonics. This concerns the evolution of the former microcontinent Avalonia, which is now a part of Western Europe and North America. The formation of the coal layers is also described, and the most important carboniferous plants are mentioned.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Paralic conditions: conditions on the landward side of a coast.

  2. 2.

    Eumatozoa are macroscopic animals possessing developed organs.

  3. 3.

    Alfred Sherwood Romer, American palaeontologist and biologist (1894–1973).

  4. 4.

    Amniota: a group of limbed vertebrates that includes all living reptiles (class Reptilia), birds (class Aves), mammals (class Mammalia), and their extinct relatives and ancestors.

  5. 5.

    An extinct genus of reptile that lived 312 million years ago during the Late Carboniferous period. (Reference: Wikipedia 2018a.)

  6. 6.

    Amphibiamus is an early temnospondyl. Temnospondyli are a diverse subclass of small to giant tetrapods—often considered primitive amphibians—that flourished worldwide during the Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic periods. Wikipedia (2018b).

  7. 7.

    Diapsids (“two arches”) are a group of amniote tetrapods that developed two holes in each side of their skulls during the late Carboniferous period. The diapsids are extremely diverse, and include all crocodiles, lizards, snakes, tuatara (Sphenodontia), turtles, and dinosaurs (both avian and non-avian). (Reference: Wikipedia 2018c.)

  8. 8.

    Present-day mammals and their extinct relatives. (Reference: Lauren and Reisz 2018.)

  9. 9.

    In geodynamics, dynamic topography refers to topography generated by the motion of zones of differing degrees of buoyancy (convection) in the Earth’s mantle (Wikipedia 2018e).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geoscience and Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    J. H. L. Voncken

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  1. J. H. L. Voncken
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Correspondence to J. H. L. Voncken .

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Voncken, J.H.L. (2020). South Limburg and Adjacent Areas as a Part of the Former Microcontinent Avalonia. In: Geology of Coal Deposits of South Limburg, The Netherlands. SpringerBriefs in Earth Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18286-1_3

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