How did expanding mountains affect coal deposition in western Europe near the end of the Pennsylvanian?
Near the end of the Pennsylvanian, mountain-building associated with the Hercynian orogenic belt significantly influenced coal deposition in western Europe. Unlike the broad, continuous coal fields found on the North American cratonic shelf, the tectonic activity of folding and faulting in Europe confined sedimentary deposits to small, isolated basins.1
The formation of these mountain ranges involved crustal thickening, which subsequently led to uplift, erosion, and the extensional collapse of the central parts of the belt, such as the Massif Central and Bohemian Massif. This tectonic environment facilitated the creation of these specific coal-bearing basins. Consequently, the European record is dominated by nonmarine sequences, with some areas showing no marine influence at all, contrasting with the more widespread marine-influenced cyclothems seen elsewhere.21