Fig. 1.
Location map of the sampled lignite opencast mines in the Konin Basin (modified according to Widera et al., 2021a).
Fig. 2.
Approximate chronostratigraphic position of the sampled Neogene lignite seams in central-west Poland (Piwocki & Ziembińska-Tworzydło, 1997; Widera, 2007) and their stratigraphic correlates in south-eastern Germany (Grimm, 2002).
Table 1.
Bulk organic geochemical parameters, biomarker concentrations, and C-isotope ratios of xylites and extracted cellulose from the 2nd Lusatian lignite seam (LLS-2) of the Lubstów deposit (Bechtel et al., 2007), as well as from the 1st Mid-Polish lignite seam (MPLS-1) from the Adamów, Jóźwin IIB, and Tomisławice deposits (Bechtel et al., 2020).
| Deposit | Sample | Sample postion (m a.s.l)a | TOCb (wt%) | n-Alkanes (μg/g TOC) | Hopanoids (μg/g TOC) | Sesquiterpenoids (μg/g TOC) | Diterpenoids (μg/g TOC) | Diterpenoids/(Di- + Tri-) | δ13C FWe (‰ vs PDBf) | Cellulose (wt%) | δ13C Cellg (‰ vs PDB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lubstów | Lub 1 | 59.4 | 53.6 | 73 | 75 | 0.7 | 45 | Triterpc <LLDd | −22.8 | 34.4 | −19.5 |
| Lubstów | Lub 2 | 58.8 | 57.1 | 63 | 86 | 1.0 | 148 | Triterp <LLD | −25.7 | 7.1 | −22.6 |
| Lubstów | Lub 3 | 57.5 | 57.4 | 40 | 85 | 0.5 | 516 | Triterp <LLD | −25.7 | 4.5 | −21.1 |
| Lubstów | Lub 4 | 56.1 | 55.4 | 31 | 27 | 2.5 | 108 | Triterp <LLD | −24.2 | 12.8 | −21.0 |
| Lubstów | Lub 5 | 55.9 | 59.0 | 68 | 20 | 2.6 | 974 | Triterp <LLD | −24.5 | 4.8 | −20.8 |
| Lubstów | Lub 6 | 52.3 | 56.5 | 32 | 28 | 2.3 | 184 | Triterp <LLD | −23.1 | 31.1 | −19.6 |
| Lubstów | Lub 7 | 51.7 | 60.2 | 122 | 169 | 3.8 | 538 | Triterp <LLD | −25.3 | 5.4 | −21.4 |
| Average | – | 57.0 | 61 | 70 | 1.9 | 359 | – | −24.5 | 14.3 | −20.8 | |
| Adamów | AX-01 | 61.7 | 38.4 | 94 | 67 | 13.0 | 1698 | 0.99 | −25.3 | 6.8 | −21.6 |
| Adamów | AX-02 | 62.3 | 41.0 | 102 | 69 | 80.5 | 630 | 0.91 | −24.7 | 6.2 | −20.9 |
| Adamów | AX-03 | 63.0 | 39.3 | 243 | 84 | 24.3 | 741 | 0.95 | −24.0 | 6.3 | −19.9 |
| Adamów | AX-04 | 63.8 | 41.8 | 144 | 41 | 8.8 | 281 | 0.92 | −24.6 | 15.0 | −21.3 |
| Adamów | AX-05 | 64.3 | 42.7 | 125 | 55 | 6.7 | 153 | 0.89 | −25.6 | 10.6 | −21.9 |
| Adamów | AX-06 | 64.7 | 40.5 | 262 | 74 | 38.9 | 917 | 0.95 | −25.2 | 7.4 | −21.7 |
| Adamów | AX-07 | 65.5 | 37.9 | 440 | 108 | 51.7 | 466 | 0.85 | −26.2 | 5.8 | −22.5 |
| Adamów | AX-08 | 66.1 | 34.0 | 75 | 73 | 91.5 | 235 | 0.89 | −24.9 | 13.3 | −21.9 |
| Adamów | AX-09 | 66.8 | 45.0 | 383 | 66 | 45.6 | 1468 | 0.88 | −26.0 | 5.9 | −22.1 |
| Adamów | AX-10 | 67.6 | 43.6 | 250 | 84 | 64.0 | 329 | 0.91 | −26.1 | 9.1 | −22.7 |
| Average | – | 40.4 | 212 | 72 | 42.5 | 692 | 0.91 | −25.3 | 8.6 | −21.7 | |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-01 | 41.5 | 41.5 | 258 | 69 | 12.2 | 148 | 0.76 | −24.4 | 5.7 | −21.4 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-02 | 42.3 | 36.9 | 298 | 147 | 26.8 | 553 | 0.88 | −26.6 | 1.6 | −22.4 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-03 | 43.2 | 52.8 | 93 | 45 | 5.1 | 948 | 0.94 | −24.3 | 18.2 | −22.0 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-04 | 44.3 | 43.1 | 263 | 159 | 51.9 | 640 | 0.84 | −25.4 | 4.8 | −21.0 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-05 | 44.8 | 44.8 | 85 | 133 | 5.4 | 513 | 0.86 | −25.5 | 5.2 | −21.5 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-06 | 45.9 | 48.2 | 234 | 120 | 7.6 | 281 | 0.78 | −25.5 | 3.7 | −21.5 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-07 | 46.1 | 43.8 | 76 | 85 | 18.5 | 596 | 0.92 | −25.5 | 3.7 | −21.9 |
| Average | – | 44.5 | 187 | 109 | 18.2 | 525 | 0.85 | −25.3 | 6.1 | −21.7 | |
| Tomisławice | TX-01 | 53.1 | 32.5 | 232 | 69 | 22.0 | 159 | 0.73 | −24.6 | 5.9 | −20.4 |
| Tomisławice | TX-02 | 54.2 | 53.6 | 221 | 42 | 5.5 | 331 | 0.87 | −24.6 | 21.8 | −21.9 |
| Tomisławice | TX-03 | 55.0 | 53.2 | 289 | 56 | 19.8 | 622 | 0.88 | −24.4 | 16.2 | −20.9 |
| Tomisławice | TX-04 | 56.2 | 48.7 | 99 | 75 | 48.4 | 765 | 0.89 | −24.9 | 7.4 | −20.6 |
| Tomisławice | TX-05 | 57.3 | 45.9 | 166 | 95 | 54.2 | 481 | 0.84 | −26.1 | 4.1 | −21.9 |
| Tomisławice | TX-06 | 58.2 | 47.9 | 218 | 63 | 9.1 | 623 | 0.85 | −23.8 | 24.2 | −20.3 |
| Tomisławice | TX-07 | 59.2 | 48.8 | 176 | 56 | 4.8 | 462 | 0.90 | −23.8 | 19.4 | −20.6 |
| Tomisławice | TX-08 | 60.4 | 45.7 | 82 | 84 | 3.4 | 227 | 0.86 | −23.8 | 13.5 | −20.2 |
| Tomisławice | TX-09 | 61.3 | 45.2 | 77 | 74 | 16.8 | 338 | 0.89 | −25.3 | 18.1 | −22.1 |
| Tomisławice | TX-10 | 62.0 | 46.5 | 22 | 37 | 19.9 | 297 | 0.93 | −23.7 | 19.3 | −20.6 |
| Average | – | 46.8 | 158 | 65 | 20.4 | 430 | 0.87 | −24.5 | 15.0 | −20.9 |
Table 2.
Bulk organic geochemical parameters, biomarker concentrations, and carbon isotope ratios of detritic lignite samples from the 1st Mid-Polish lignite seam (MPLS-1) of the Adamów, Jóźwin IIB, and Tomisławice deposits (Bechtel et al., 2019).
| Deposit | Sample | Sample postion (m a.s.l)a | TOCb (wt%) | n-Alkanes (μg/g TOC) | Hopanoids (μg/g TOC) | Sesquiterpenoids (μg/g TOC) | Diterpenoids (μg/g TOC) | Triterpenoids (μg/g TOC) | Diterpenoids (Di- + Tri-) | δ13C TOC (‰ vs PDBc) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adamów | AD-01 | 61.7 | 46.6 | 154 | 74 | 0.4 | 16 | 76 | 0.18 | −26.0 |
| Adamów | AD-02 | 62.3 | 49.8 | 108 | 57 | 0.2 | 83 | 75 | 0.52 | −25.4 |
| Adamów | AD-03 | 63.0 | 52.3 | 188 | 85 | 2.2 | 293 | 125 | 0.70 | −24.7 |
| Adamów | AD-04 | 63.8 | 51.3 | 193 | 80 | 8.0 | 65 | 127 | 0.34 | −25.8 |
| Adamów | AD-05 | 64.3 | 49.1 | 71 | 42 | 25.1 | 28 | 52 | 0.35 | −25.7 |
| Adamów | AD-06 | 64.7 | 49.5 | 78 | 47 | 18.1 | 16 | 51 | 0.24 | −25.9 |
| Adamów | AD-07 | 65.5 | 42.9 | 215 | 68 | 1.9 | 25 | 90 | 0.22 | −26.0 |
| Adamów | AD-08 | 66.1 | 51.4 | 88 | 43 | 34.4 | 43 | 41 | 0.51 | −25.6 |
| Adamów | AD-09 | 66.8 | 49.3 | 88 | 46 | 52.3 | 23 | 44 | 0.34 | −25.5 |
| Adamów | AD-10 | 67.6 | 39.3 | 226 | 73 | 13.7 | 34 | 119 | 0.22 | −26.1 |
| Average | – | 48.1 | 141 | 62 | 15.6 | 62 | 80 | 0.36 | −25.7 | |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-01 | 41.5 | 34.0 | 127 | 60 | 3.1 | 18 | 49 | 0.26 | −25.6 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-02 | 42.3 | 47.8 | 85 | 62 | 1.0 | 73 | 33 | 0.69 | −25.0 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-03 | 43.2 | 51.2 | 200 | 59 | 4.3 | 109 | 101 | 0.52 | −25.5 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-04 | 44.3 | 51.8 | 186 | 79 | 73.3 | 223 | 159 | 0.58 | −25.1 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-05 | 44.8 | 52.0 | 219 | 70 | 30.0 | 153 | 149 | 0.51 | −25.4 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-06 | 45.9 | 53.0 | 78 | 35 | 0.4 | 28 | 60 | 0.32 | −25.7 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-07 | 46.1 | 50.8 | 172 | 63 | 39.4 | 62 | 110 | 0.36 | −25.8 |
| Average | – | 48.7 | 152 | 61 | 21.6 | 95 | 94 | 0.46 | −25.5 | |
| Tomisławice | TD-01 | 53.1 | 16.7 | 117 | 74 | 7.2 | 34 | 54 | 0.39 | −25.8 |
| Tomisławice | TD-02 | 54.2 | 54.5 | 168 | 103 | 24.7 | 97 | 51 | 0.65 | −25.2 |
| Tomisławice | TD-03 | 55.0 | 58.8 | 94 | 49 | 1.8 | 16 | 75 | 0.18 | −26.2 |
| Tomisławice | TD-04 | 56.2 | 52.3 | 323 | 111 | 20.3 | 87 | 139 | 0.39 | −25.6 |
| Tomisławice | TD-05 | 57.3 | 53.4 | 353 | 89 | 1.9 | 152 | 156 | 0.49 | −25.2 |
| Tomisławice | TD-06 | 58.2 | 38.3 | 232 | 90 | 0.6 | 68 | 119 | 0.36 | −25.4 |
| Tomisławice | TD-07 | 59.2 | 22.0 | 216 | 95 | 4.3 | 22 | 44 | 0.34 | −25.6 |
| Tomisławice | TD-08 | 60.4 | 44.5 | 154 | 76 | 0.5 | 10 | 41 | 0.19 | −25.9 |
| Tomisławice | TD-09 | 61.3 | 41.5 | 108 | 72 | 7.2 | 29 | 32 | 0.47 | −25.6 |
| Tomisławice | TD-10 | 62.0 | 31.4 | 254 | 97 | 9.8 | 61 | 67 | 0.48 | −25.4 |
| Average | – | 41.3 | 202 | 86 | 7.8 | 58 | 78 | 0.39 | −25.6 |
Fig. 3.
Representative total ion current chromatograms of the saturated hydrocarbon fraction of the xylites. A – Sample Lub 4 from the Lubstów opencast mine (Bechtel et al., 2007); B, C – The non-polar (hydrocarbon) fractions of xylite sample AX-09 and of detritic lignite sample AD-02 from the Adamów opencast mine, respectively (Bechtel et al., 2019, 2020); n-Alkanes are labelled according to their carbon number; Std. – Internal Standard (squalane).
Fig. 4.
Representative total ion current chromatograms of the aromatic hydrocarbon fraction of the xylites. A – Sample Lub 4 from the Lubstów deposit (Bechtel et al., 2007); B, C – The low-polar (ketone) fractions of xylite sample AX-09 and of detritic lignite sample AD-02 from the Adamów mine, respectively (Bechtel et al., 2019, 2020); Std. – Internal Standard (1,1′-binaphthyl).
Fig. 5.
Average relative abundances of terpenoid biomarkers in the lipid fractions of the xylites from Lubstów, Adamów, Jóźwin IIB and Tomisławice opencast mines, and of detritic lignite samples from Adamów, Jóźwin IIB and Tomisławice opencast mines.
Table 3.
Relative abundances of diterpenoid compound groups in xylites from the 2nd Lusatian lignite seam (LLS-2) of the Lubstów deposit (recalculated according to Bechtel et al., 2007), as well as from the 1st Mid-Polish lignite seam (MPLS-1) from the Adamów, Jóźwin IIB, and Tomisławice deposits (recalculated according to Bechtel et al., 2020).
| Deposit | Sample | Phyllocladane type (%, Diterpa) | Abietane type (%, Diterp) | Pimarane type (%, Diterp) | ent-Beyerane (%, Diterp) | Ferruginol + Dehydroferruginol (%, Diterp) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lubstów | Lub 1 | 8.3 | 52.7 | 35.9 | 3.1 | not analysed |
| Lubstów | Lub 2 | 10.7 | 56.3 | 25.5 | 7.5 | not analysed |
| Lubstów | Lub 3 | 10.1 | 37.7 | 42.5 | 9.8 | not analysed |
| Lubstów | Lub 4 | 20.3 | 40.4 | 35.1 | 4.2 | not analysed |
| Lubstów | Lub 5 | 4.1 | 56.2 | 34.2 | 5.5 | not analysed |
| Lubstów | Lub 6 | 6.7 | 73.7 | 15.6 | 4.0 | not analysed |
| Lubstów | Lub 7 | 10.7 | 50.4 | 29.0 | 9.8 | not analysed |
| Average | 10.1 | 52.5 | 31.1 | 6.3 | – | |
| Adamów | AX-01 | 17.8 | 53.7 | 24.7 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Adamów | AX-02 | 44.7 | 27.4 | 23.1 | 0.0 | 4.4 |
| Adamów | AX-03 | 43.4 | 28.4 | 23.9 | 0.0 | 3.9 |
| Adamów | AX-04 | 28.4 | 37.3 | 26.3 | 0.0 | 5.5 |
| Adamów | AX-05 | 25.3 | 30.7 | 28.7 | 0.0 | 13.2 |
| Adamów | AX-06 | 2.5 | 78.6 | 17.6 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Adamów | AX-07 | 34.4 | 39.4 | 22.8 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Adamów | AX-08 | 23.2 | 34.6 | 27.2 | 0.0 | 12.2 |
| Adamów | AX-09 | 2.3 | 58.1 | 37.9 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Adamów | AX-10 | 15.3 | 47.2 | 29.6 | 0.0 | 5.0 |
| Average | 23.7 | 43.5 | 26.2 | 0.0 | 5.0 | |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-01 | 18.3 | 38.7 | 31.1 | 0.0 | 8.6 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-02 | 15.0 | 31.4 | 49.8 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-03 | 17.1 | 36.1 | 42.6 | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-04 | 19.9 | 29.1 | 27.4 | 0.0 | 22.0 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-05 | 14.1 | 52.5 | 25.9 | 0.0 | 6.6 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-06 | 20.5 | 33.7 | 29.2 | 0.0 | 11.6 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JX-07 | 6.3 | 47.3 | 40.5 | 0.0 | 5.1 |
| Average | 15.9 | 38.4 | 35.2 | 0.0 | 8.5 | |
| Tomisławice | TX-01 | 15.6 | 43.0 | 33.5 | 0.0 | 8.3 |
| Tomisławice | TX-02 | 21.8 | 36.7 | 28.8 | 0.0 | 10.7 |
| Tomisławice | TX-03 | 21.1 | 40.0 | 32.1 | 0.0 | 6.5 |
| Tomisławice | TX-04 | 8.5 | 46.4 | 41.6 | 0.0 | 2.1 |
| Tomisławice | TX-05 | 5.8 | 62.9 | 20.1 | 0.0 | 11.1 |
| Tomisławice | TX-06 | 24.0 | 45.3 | 18.2 | 0.0 | 11.5 |
| Tomisławice | TX-07 | 26.6 | 38.4 | 30.9 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
| Tomisławice | TX-08 | 15.8 | 40.3 | 30.1 | 0.0 | 12.7 |
| Tomisławice | TX-09 | 24.6 | 34.9 | 27.8 | 0.0 | 6.4 |
| Tomisławice | TX-10 | 8.7 | 69.6 | 16.0 | 0.0 | 2.2 |
| Average | 17.3 | 45.8 | 27.9 | 0.0 | 7.6 |
Table 4.
Relative abundances of diterpenoid compound groups of detritic lignite samples from the 1st Mid-Polish lignite seam (MPLS-1) from the Adamów, Jóźwin IIB, and Tomisławice deposits (recalculated according to Bechtel et al., 2019).
| Deposit | Sample | Phyllocladane type (%, Diterpa) | Abietane type (%, Diterp) | Pimarane type (%, Diterp) | ent-Beyerane (%, Diterp) | Ferruginol + Dehydroferruginol (%, Diterp) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adamów | AD-01 | 30.1 | 19.3 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 17.3 |
| Adamów | AD-02 | 45.7 | 30.3 | 19.5 | 0.0 | 4.5 |
| Adamów | AD-03 | 56.9 | 14.2 | 26.8 | 0.0 | 2.1 |
| Adamów | AD-04 | 30.3 | 26.1 | 36.5 | 0.0 | 7.1 |
| Adamów | AD-05 | 28.2 | 46.0 | 21.5 | 0.0 | 4.3 |
| Adamów | AD-06 | 17.3 | 46.0 | 31.8 | 0.0 | 4.9 |
| Adamów | AD-07 | 39.1 | 31.4 | 20.8 | 0.0 | 8.8 |
| Adamów | AD-08 | 51.1 | 9.0 | 38.9 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Adamów | AD-09 | 31.7 | 26.9 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| Adamów | AD-10 | 13.9 | 52.2 | 26.3 | 0.0 | 7.6 |
| Average | 34.4 | 30.1 | 29.5 | 0.0 | 5.9 | |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-01 | 30.4 | 49.6 | 16.5 | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-02 | 36.6 | 4.4 | 58.4 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-03 | 46.0 | 7.3 | 44.8 | 0.0 | 1.9 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-04 | 31.1 | 13.7 | 39.8 | 0.0 | 15.4 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-05 | 9.5 | 29.5 | 43.4 | 0.0 | 17.6 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-06 | 9.6 | 28.4 | 34.9 | 0.0 | 27.0 |
| Jóźwin IIB | JD-07 | 7.0 | 35.1 | 25.1 | 0.0 | 32.8 |
| Average | 24.3 | 24.0 | 37.6 | 0.0 | 14.1 | |
| Tomisławice | TD-01 | 32.2 | 23.0 | 38.7 | 0.0 | 6.1 |
| Tomisławice | TD-02 | 27.5 | 27.9 | 34.0 | 0.0 | 10.7 |
| Tomisławice | TD-03 | 21.6 | 36.8 | 13.9 | 0.0 | 27.8 |
| Tomisławice | TD-04 | 7.5 | 32.5 | 14.2 | 0.0 | 45.8 |
| Tomisławice | TD-05 | 37.7 | 15.7 | 40.6 | 0.0 | 6.0 |
| Tomisławice | TD-06 | 12.0 | 34.4 | 43.5 | 0.0 | 10.2 |
| Tomisławice | TD-07 | 23.0 | 38.9 | 35.1 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| Tomisławice | TD-08 | 22.4 | 39.3 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 28.3 |
| Tomisławice | TD-09 | 13.6 | 17.8 | 9.0 | 0.0 | 59.6 |
| Tomisławice | TD-10 | 32.3 | 39.8 | 21.0 | 0.0 | 6.9 |
| Average | 23.0 | 30.6 | 26.0 | 0.0 | 20.4 |
Fig. 6.
Cross-plot of δ13C values of xylite TOC versus extracted cellulose. A – Lubstów opencast mine (Bechtel et al., 2007); B – Adamów, Jóźwin IIB and Tomisławice opencast mines (modified according to Bechtel et al., 2020).
Fig. 7.
Correlation between TOC δ13C values and the relative contribution of diterpenoids, expressed as the di-/(di + tri)-terpenoid ratio, in detritic lignite samples (Bechtel et al., 2019) and xylites from the Adamów, Jóźwin IIB, and Tomisławice opencast mines.
Fig. 8.
Cross-plot of δ13C of wood cellulose from LLS-2 and MPLS-1 lignite seams of the Konin Basin (Poland) versus age of peat accumulation. Data obtained from tree stumps within lignite deposits of the Lower Rhine Basin (Germany) are shown for comparison (adopted from Jordan, 1995).