>However, IF the coals are formed in a global catastrophe, then the smaller
>compression ratio would apply since one could rule out significant bacterial
>decay times.
>
>Does this sound reasonable?
Yeah, but if the stuff was already a bog, it doesn't make much difference.
I suspect that the Paleozoic vegetation was mostly of this type (bog stuff,
probably with a lot of compression due to decay and compaction, regardless
of the model). Mesozoic and Cenozoic stuff is different.
Art
http://chadwicka.swau.edu