Burial and thermal history modelling of the Upper Carboniferous strata based on vitrinite refl ectance data from Bzie-Dębina-60 borehole (Upper Silesian Coal Basin, southern Poland)

Integrated modeling of the coal rank in the Upper Carboniferous sediments of the BzieDębina-60 borehole from SW of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin was performed based on a new vitrinite reflectance measurements from the Westphalian A. Microscopic investigations of Westphalian samples in the Bzie-Debina-60 well have shown that organic matter is dominated by vitrinite maceral group. The coal rank in the well shows an increase with depth. The mean vitrinite reflectance values in these samples range from 0.76 to 1.07 %. One-dimensional forward modelling of thermal maturity in the Bzie-Dębina-60 borehole section has been performed in order to explain the burial and thermal history. The maximum temperature (c. 145 °C) causing the coalification occurred in the Latest Carboniferous (c. 300 Ma). These processes were likely related to signifi cant late Variscan burial heating in this area as indicated by previous authors