West-central Pennsylvania Research Articles

Macrolichens as Biomonitors of Air-quality Change in Western Pennsylvania

Species richness of corticolous macrolichens was monitored at one- or two-year intervals on a total of 63 plots from 1997–2003 in a region of west-central Pennsylvania that included four coal-fired power generating stations and an industrial city. Lichen richness significantly increased from an average of 5.7 species/plot in 1997 to 9.3 species/plot in 2003. A linear mean rate of gain in species on regional monitoring plots was 0.56 species/yr. Plots along a major ridge top had a slower but significant gain in richness, and a localized area flanked by the city and two generating stations exhibited less lichen recolonization. Our results confirm the value of macrolichens as indicators of air quality and the importance of examining temporal as well as spatial changes in lichen richness to ascertain air-quality status.

WesBanco, Inc.

AbstractCommercial Banking (MIC: 8.1 SIC: 6021 NAIC:522110)WesBanco is a bank holding company. Through its subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc., Co. offers a range of financial services including retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust services, brokerage, mortgage banking and insurance through 72 offices located in West Virginia, central and eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Co. also offers services through its non‐banking affiliates. WesBanco Insurance Services is a multi‐line insurance agency specializing in property, casualty and life insurance. WesBanco Securities is a full service broker‐dealer. Co. also serves as investment adviser to a family of mutual funds under the name WesMark Funds.

WesBanco, Inc.

Mergent's Dividend AchieversVolume 2, Issue 2 p. 304-304 U.S. Company Report WesBanco, Inc.† First published: 22 April 2005 https://doi.org/10.1002/div.2475 † Contact: : Edward M. George — Chmn. Address: : 1 Bank Plaza, Wheeling, WV 26003 Web Site: : www.wesbanco.com AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract Commercial Banking (MIC: 8.1 SIC: 021 NAIC: 22110) WesBanco is a bank holding company. Through its subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc., Co. offers a range of financial services including retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust services, brokerage, mortgage banking and insurance through 72 offices located in West Virginia, central and eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Co. also offers services through its non-banking affiliates. WesBanco Insurance Services is a multi-line insurance agency specializing in property, casualty and life insurance. WesBanco Securities is a full service broker-dealer. Co. also serves as investment adviser to a family of mutual funds under the name WesMark Funds. Volume2, Issue2Spring 2005Pages 304-304 RelatedInformation

WesBanco, Inc.

AbstractCommercial Banking (MIC: 8.1 SIC: 6021 NAIC:522110)WesBanco is a bank holding company. Through its subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc., Co. offers a range of financial services including retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust services, brokerage, mortgage banking and insurance through 72 offices located in West Virginia, central and eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Co. also offers services through its non‐banking affiliates. WesBanco Insurance Services is a multi‐line insurance agency specializing in property, casualty and life insurance. WesBanco Securities is a full service broker‐dealer. Co. also serves as investment adviser to a family of mutual funds under the name WesMark Funds.

Isotopic evidence for the source of sulfur in the Upper Freeport coal bed (west-central Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)

Sulfur isotopic variations were used to determine the sources of sulfur in a medium-sulfur coal (∼2 wt%S) that lacked marine influence, which is often cited as a major source of sulfur in coal. Variations in the amount and isotopic composition of the organic and pyritic sulfur among the coal-bed facies of the Upper Freeport coal bed (Middle Pennsylvanian) are attributed to differential incorporation of syngenetic and epigenetic sulfur. These variations reflect varying environmental conditions during paleopeat formation, porosity and permeability, and the availability of sulfate and iron. A large increase in the abundance and sulfur isotopic value of pyritic sulfur in the upper facies of the coal bed, in proximity to the overlying lacustrine shale, corresponds to an increase in massive and irregular forms of pyrite. This relationship is attributed to at least two stages of epigenetic pyrite incorporation. An early stage of epigenetic pyrite, moderately enriched in 34S, apparently formed during the fluvial-lacustrine period immediately following peat accumulation. A late stage of epigenetic pyrite, highly enriched in 34S, formed after compaction of the original peat as cleat- and fracture-filling pyrite; this sulfur was probably derived from bacterial reduction of dissolved sulfate in groundwater. Isotopic mass-balance calculations indicate that this late-stage epigenetic pyrite may account for up to ∼50% of the pyritic sulfur in some upper facies of the coal bed. These results suggest that most of the pyritic sulfur in the Upper Freeport coal bed may be epigenetic, incorporated either soon after peat accumulation or later during coalification.

An unusual occurrence of arsenic-bearing pyrite in the Upper Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania

Scanning electron microscopy and electron microprobe analysis were used to identify a rare type of As-bearing pyrite in selected specific gravity separates from the Pennsylvanian age Upper Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania. Arsenic was detected mainly in cell-wall replacement pyrite where concentrations ranged from nondetectable to 1.9 wt%. Although the majority of arsenic-bearing pyrite in the Upper Freeport coal bed is concentrated in massive and late diagenetic pyrite morphologies, the rarer As-bearing cell-replacement pyrite was observed in both light and heavy gravity separates from the three coal facies examined

Facies development in the Lower Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

The Lower Freeport coal bed in west-central Pennsylvania is interpreted to have formed within a lacustrine-mire environment. Conditions of peat formation, caused by the changing chemical and physical environments, produced five coal facies and two mineral-rich parting facies within the coal bed. The coal bed facies are compositionally unique, having developed under varying conditions, and are manifested by megascopic, petrographic, palynologic and quality characteristics. The initial environment of the Lower Freeport peat resulted in a coal facies that is relatively high in ash yield and contains large amounts of lycopod miospores and moderate abundances of cryptotelinite, crypto-gelocollinite, inertinite and tree fern miospores. This initial Lower Freeport peat is interpreted to have been a topogenous body that was low lying, relatively nutrient rich (mesotrophic to eutrophic), and susceptible to ground water and to sediment influx from surface water. The next facies to form was a ubiquitous, clay-rich durain parting which is attributed to a general rise in the water table accompanied by widespread flooding. Following formation of the parting, peat accumulation resumed within an environment that inhibited clastic input. Development of doming in this facies restricted deposition of the upper shale parting to the margins of the mire and allowed low-ash peat to form in the interior of the mire. Because this environment was conducive to preservation of cellular tissue, this coal facies also contains large amounts of crypto-telinite. This facies development is interpreted to have been a transitional phase from topogenous, planar peat formation to slightly domed, oligotrophic (nutrient-poor) peat formation. As domed peat formation continued, fluctuations in the water table enabled oxidation of the peat surface and produced high inertinite concentrations toward the top of the coal bed. Tree ferns became an increasingly important peat contributor in the e upper facies, based on the palynoflora. This floral change is interpreted to have resulted from the peat surface becoming less wet or better drained, a condition that inhibited proliferation of lycopod trees. Accumulation of the peat continued until rising water levels formed a freshwater lake within which clays and silts were deposited. The development of the Lower Freeport peat from a planar mire through transitional phases toward domed peat formation may be an example of the type of peat formation of other upper Middle and Upper Pennsylvanian coal beds.

Effects of detrital influx in the Pennsylvanian Upper Freeport peat swamp

Quartz cathodoluminescence properties and mineralogy of three sets of samples and vegetal and/ or miospore data from two sets of samples from the Upper Freeport coal bed, west-central Pennsylvania, show that detrital influence from a penecontemporaneous channel is limited to an area less than three km from the channel. The sets of samples examined include localities of the coal bed where (1) the coal is thin, split by partings, and near a penecontemporaneous fluvial channel, (2) the coal is relatively thick and located approximately three km from the channel, and (3) the coal is thick and located approximately 12 km from the channel. Samples from locality 1 (nearest the channel) have relatively high-ash yields (low-temperature ash average = 27.3% on a pyrite- and calcite-free basis) and high proportions of quartz and clay minerals. The quartz is primarily detrital, as determined by cathodoluminescent properties, and the ratio of kaolinite to illite is low. In addition, most of the plant remains and miospores indicate peat-forming plants that required low nutrient levels for growth. In contrast, samples from localities 2 and 3, from the more interior parts of the bed, contained predominantly authigenic quartz grains nd yielded low-temperature ash values of less than 14% on a pyrite- and calcite-free basis. The low-temperature ash contains low concentrations of quartz and clay minerals and the ratio of kaolinite to illite is relatively high. Although intact core was not available for paleobotanical analyses, another core collected within 1 km from locality 3 contained plant types interpreted to have required high nutrient levels for growth. These data indicate that mineral formation is dominated by authigenic processes in interior parts of the coal body. Some of the authigenic quartz may have been derived from herbaceous ferns as indicated by patterns in the palynological and paleobotanical data. In contrast, detrital processes appeared to be limited to in areas directly adjacent to the penecontemporaneous channel where the coal bed is high in ash, split by mineral-rich partings, and of little or no economic value.

Arsenic-Bearing Cell-Wall Replacement Pyrite in Upper Freeport Coal Bed, West-Central Pennsylvania: ABSTRACT

Arsenic-bearing cell-wall replacement pyrite was observed in coal samples from the Upper Freeport coal in west-central Pennsylvania. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron microprobe analysis were used to characterize pyrite morphologies and quantify arsenic in different forms of pyrite. The framboidal, massive, and cleat pyrite forms contained no detectable arsenic (minimum detection level = 0.04 wt. %). In contrast, arsenic values ranged from not detectable to 1.87 wt. % in cell-wall replacement pyrite. No obvious correlation was found between sulfur and arsenic totals in the pyrite. Cell-filling pyrite contained arsenic rarely and only where it was in direct contact with cell-wall replacement pyrite. Arsenic in cell-filling pyrite was highest at the edges; values ranged from not detectable to 1.64 wt. %. Lack of contrast differences in the backscattered mode of the SEM and relatively homogeneous arsenic values for individual cell walls suggest that arsenic is in solid solution with the pyrite. Cell-wall pyritization occurred after peat formation but before compaction; arsenic was probably not available at other times. Framboids form after compaction and massive and cleat pyrite form after compaction; their analyses indicate no detectable arsenic in these phase. The zoned character of cell-filling pyrite suggests that remobilization of arsenicmore » from cell-wall pyrite to adjoining cell-filling pyrite may have occurred during later stages of coalification.« less

Authigenic Quartz in the Upper Freeport Coal Bed, West-Central Pennsylvania

Cathodoluminescence petrography was used to examine quartz grains contained in facies of the Upper Freeport coal bed (Middle Pennsylvanian) of west-central Pennsylvania. Samples included ash concentrates, polished blocks of different lithotypes, and standard petrographic pellets of specific gravity separates of facies channel samples. More than 80% of the quartz in mineral and vitrain-rich bands in the polished blocks of the Upper Freeport coal bed do not exhibit cathodoluminescence. In specific gravity separates of the coal, 100% of the quartz examined in the lightest gravity separates did not luminesce. In the heaviest gravity separates, which included shale-parting material, 60% of the quartz did not luminesce. In contrast, in a sample of shale directly overlying the coal bed, more than 90% of the quartz luminesced. On the basis of these cathodoluminescence data and other published data, quartz in the Upper Freeport coal bed is interpreted to be authigenic in origin. The authigenic quartz grains are postulated to have been derived from phytoclasts.

Depositional Environment and Reservoir Characteristics of an Upper Devonian Sandstone in the Appalachian Basin, Cherryhill Field, Indiana County, West-Central Pennsylvania: ABSTRACT

The Appalachian basin is referred to as the birthplace of the oil and gas industry. Drilling has occurred since the Drake discovery well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859. Applying new tricks in an old basin is one way to help meet tomorrow's energy needs. An isopach map, cross sections, genetic increment strata (GIS) map, core studies, and subsurface well logs suggest a gas-productive turbidite End_Page 481------------------------------ channel deposit for the Upper Devonian Speechley sandstone in Cherryhill field in west-central Pennsylvania. Isopaching indicates the channel trend, showing the geometry of the sand body perpendicular to basin contouring. Cross sections document a downcutting erosional contact with the underlying marine shales. Using a lithologic time correlator above the sand and the erosional basal contact, a GIS map shows that maximum reservoir development coincides with the central channel axis. Thus, the isopach and GIS maps are essentially identical; both confirm the channel trend. Bedding characteristics, sedimentary structures, and petrology, from 59 ft (18 m) of conventional core, also suggest a turbidite channel. Bedding is predominately massive, and is comprised of incomplete Bouma sequences. Grain size decreases upward. Porosities which average 8%, and permeabilities, which are generally less than 1 md, were reduced by silica and carbonate cements and clays bridging pore throats. Sedimentary structures include shale clasts, erosional basal contacts, and bioturbation. The combination of various mapping techniques and core interpretation suggest a turbidite channel origin for the Speechley sandstone. This approach may permit predictions for field development and exploratory drilling. End_of_Article - Last_Page 482------------

Influence of Depositional Environment on Type and Probability of Encountering Coal-Bed Discontinuities: ABSTRACT

Predictive models that characterize coal bed discontinuities enable mine operators to be better judges of the size, geometry, and influence of these features in unmined portions of the coal bed. An analysis of depositional environments in initial geologic studies of prospective mine properties will indicate the specific types of coal bed discontinuities that can be anticipated. The type of coal bed discontinuity and the frequency of occurrence are functions of the depositional environment. Peat, the precursor of coal, accumulated in swamps that may form on fluvial plains, on delta plains, and in littoral areas. Using generalized depositional models for these environments, the types of coal bed discontinuities that can be expected and an estimate of the likelihood of their occurrence can be determined. Coal beds deposited on fluvial plains generally are thin, erratic, and discontinuous because of the highly oxidizing character of this environment. Discontinuities due to irregular topography and fluvial channel activity are common, as displayed by Upper Pennsylvanian and Permian coal beds of the Dunkard basin. Coal beds formed in deltaic settings are generally thick and laterally extensive, as they commonly infill broad interdistributary areas. These coal beds are typically plagued by discontinuities associated with distributary channels (e.g., avulsion, splays). The Freeport and Kittanning coal beds in west-central Pennsylvania demonstrate features characteristic of delta-plain coals and the discontinuities that beset them. Coal beds deposited landward of barrier bar sequences generally are irregular and are interrupted by tidal channels and washover deposits. The Pocahontas 3 coal bed of southern West Virginia exhibits many of the characteristics of this paralic setting. Although some clastic dikes may be depositionally related, such discontinuities, as well as faulting, may be overprinted by tectonic activity on coal beds from any depositio al environment. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1922------------

Structural, Optical, and Chemical Relations in Upper Freeport Coal of West-Central Pennsylvania: ABSTRACT

A direct relation in trends has been made between the structural deformation of west-central Pennsylvania and two petrographic properties of the Upper Freeport coal. Using samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, data for vitrinite reflectance and fixed-carbon percentage were generated and contour maps developed. It was found that the values increased in a near-linear northwest to southeast trend--the same trend as that of increasing regional deformation. Further development and refinement of these kinds of contour maps give the means for coal companies to infer the probable rank of a particular coal in areas where there has not necessarily been extensive analysis. The results and conclusions in this paper point to a possible method of predicting certain optical a d chemical parameters of coals on the basis of their structural history and scattered samples collected in the basin. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1014------------

Upper Devonian Tide-Dominated Deltaic-Intradeltaic Sedimentation in West-Central Pennsylvania: A Sedimentologic Model for Distribution of Petroleum Sandstone Reservoir Types: ABSTRACT

Upper Devonian Catskill Formation outcrops in west-central Pennsylvania were studied to develop a regional depositional model, and a better understanding of the sedimentologic controls on distribution of the petroleum sandstone reservoir types in the subsurface part of the basin. The Catskill Formation is characterized, from base up, by the Irish Valley, Sherman Creek, and Duncannon Members, whose thicknesses and proportions End_Page 1288------------------------------ markedly change by lateral intertonguing along northeast-southwest depositional strike. The Irish Valley Member, in much of the area, consists of alternations of marine and nonmarine sediments which are arranged in several motifs. Each motif consists of a fining-upward facies assemblage, showing a variety of structures attributed to subtidal and intertidal flat sedimentation. The Sherman Creek Member consists of nonmarine mudstone and siltstone and subordinate amounts of sandstone, organized into a succession of fining-up cycles, deposited on a low relief and inactive coastal plain with small and high sinuosity meandering streams and broad flood basins. The Duncannon Member consists of interbeds of nonmarine, thick to massive and complexly cross-bedded sandstone with subordinate amoun s of mudstone and siltstone, believed to represent low sinuosity to possibly braided river systems. The Duncannon facies dominates the Catskill Formation in the central parts of the area and intertongues laterally with the Sherman Creek Member and parts of the Irish Valley Member which comprise the main bulk of the Catskill to the south and north. In the same area, the Irish Valley facies, while attaining its tidal origin, is not characterized by repetition of motifs. Paleoenvironmental synthesis suggests that the Catskill shoreline was fed by a tide-dominated delta in central Pennsylvania (Centre County) and was flanked to the south and north by broad tidal flats which graded landward to an inactive coastal plain environment. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1289------------

Control of a Looper, Lambdina athasaria athasaria on Hemlock with Three Chemical Insecticides12

Carbaryl (Sevin®-4-oil) at 1.12 kg Al/ha, trichlorfon Dylox®-1.5-oil) at 1.12 kg Al/ha, and acephate (Orthene ® 75S) at 0.56 kg Al/ha all caused significant reductions in populations of Lambdina athasaria athasaria Walker) on hemlock in west-central Pennsylvania. Larval knockdown was quickest with trichlorfon and acephate, but by 4 days after treatment none of the treated areas was significantly different from any other. Carbaryl was still active during the 3rd wk after treatment.

Mechanics of Appalachian Foreland Folding in Pennsylvania and West Virginia

The Sandhill well on the north-south Burning Springs anticline in West Virginia found little or no deformation below the Lower Devonian. Nevertheless the shortening produced in the Carboniferous and Devonian strata by the anticline--probably not less than ¼ mile--can not simply disappear but must be taken up somewhere, both laterally, beyond the abrupt ends of the anticline, and beneath, in the underlying strata. The pattern of fold trends south and east of the Burning Springs anticline suggests the presence of conjugate sets of strike-slip faults that have hitherto escaped recognition because, being in flat sediments, they show no stratigraphic displacement. Such faults may mark parts of the boundary of a block whose shifting produced the Burning Springs anticline; their orientation suggests that it moved roughly N.50°W. relative to the surrounding parts of the Appalachian Plateau. Complex structure reported in the Lower Devonian rocks under other foreland folds in northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania indicates that they are similar in mechanics and that the block extends northeast at least into west-central Pennsylvania. The location of the Burning Springs anticline over the western pinch-out of Upper Silurian salt suggests that the block has slipped forward on the salt layers, leaving the underlying strata relatively undisturbed. The hypothesis is therefore presented that the Appalachian foreland folds of Pennsylvania and West Virginia result from the slipping of the upper strata of a part of the Appalachian Plateau northwestward over their substratum, as a marginal effect of the deformation of the Valley and Ridge province on the southeast. The mechanics is exactly that demonstrated by Rich for the Pine Mountain thrust sheet in a similar position not far southwest; the block in question is larger but would have moved much less far.

The Development of Peat Lands

great scientific as well as practical interest. Reclamation of such land, and use of the peat itself, is a matter of importance throughout northern Europe, and for this reason, if no other, it is highly desirable to know something of the processes involved in peat accumulation, and of the factors controlling it. Since the study of peat lands entails dealing with a mass of complex relations between organisms and their environments, our understanding of them is necessarily fragmentary and far from complete. Nevertheless, if a brief outline is presented of one type of vegetation and soil sequence which occurs in many parts of northern Britain, the scene may be set for a consideration of the way in which variations in the major environmental factors-climate, geology, relief, and organisms-can modify this type of succession over long periods of time, in different parts of the world. First, however, it