Silicified conifer forests and potential mining problems in seam M2 of the Gore Lignite Measures (Miocene), Southland, New Zealand

Abstract

Silicified conifer ( Podocarpus cf. hallii) stumps up to 0.8 m in diameter are present at two levels in seam M2 of the Miocene Gore Lignite Measures, Mataura Coalfield, eastern Southland. The in situ stumps are believed to be the remains of forests which grew during pauses in peat accumulation, when groundwater levels were depressed as a result of climatic change or local basinal processes. Growth-ring measurements show the trees increased in radius between 0.16 and 1 mm per year. In two of six specimens, the growth-rates halved during their final 30–40 years of life; rising water levels may have resulted in less favourable growth conditions. Within the stumps, much of the wood structure is well preserved. Progressive diagenesis involved impregnation of the cell walls by silica, infilling of the cell lumens with length-slow chalcedony and opaline silica, and deposition of opal, length-fast chalcedony, and minor siderite in fractures. Radial and axial parenchyma contain coalified organic material and minor chalcedony. Filaments of wood-rotting fungi and probable root masses of epiphytes are present in some fossil wood. However, by analogy with modern Podocarpus hallii, we maintain the stumps were preserved for later silicification because the wood was highly resistant to fungal and bacterial decay. The stumps presumably functioned as conduits to ascending silica-saturated meteoric groundwater and water released during compaction, because of the contrasts in permeability between the vertical stumps and the surrounding peat.