Alum shale

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Alum shale
Type Geological formation
Lithology
Primary Black shale
Other Shale, Oil shale
Location
Country Sweden, Denmark, Norway, England

Alum shale (also known as alum schist and alum slate) is a variety of black shale. It is shale or clay slate containing pyrite. Decomposition of pyrite by weathering forms sulfuric acid, which acts on potash and alumina constituents to form alum, which often occurs as efflorescences on the rock outcrop.

As alum shale contains kerogen originated from algae, it is also classified as marinite-type oil shale. At the same time it is rich in aromatic hydrocarbon attributed to post-depositional irradiation damage induced by uranium concentration in the shale.[1] Alum shale also contains enhanced levels of radium as a result of uranium decay.[2] Between 1950 and 1989, Sweden used alum shale for the uranium production.[3]

Paleofauna

Pterosaurs

Pterosaurs of the Alum Shale
Taxa Presence Notes Images

Genus:

  1. P. purdoni[4]
  1. Found near the town of Whitby in Yorkshire, England.[4]

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Wellnhofer, Peter (1991). "Summary of Lower Jurassic Pterosaurs." The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs. London, UK: Salamander Books Limited. p. 79. ISBN 0-86101-566-5.



Preceded by Proterozoic Eon Phanerozoic Eon
Paleozoic Era Mesozoic Era Cenozoic Era
Cambrian Ordovician Silurian Devonian Carboniferous Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Paleogene Neogene 4ry