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On trees... (mander.xyz)
submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[-] [email protected] 108 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Also cool that for a period of like 60 million years, nothing decomposed dead trees. As they would die or fall over, they'd just stay there, piling up. This is where most oil came from. The massive amounts of trees stacking up before bacteria and fungus evolved to decomposed them. Imagine 60 million years worth of trees just lying around.

*Thought I'd add an edit, since this post got quite a few eyes on it: It was mostly coal that all those trees turned into. Not oil.

[-] [email protected] 48 points 1 week ago

Didn't those trees become coal, not oil?

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 week ago

Yes. I made mention of this in a reply to someone else as well. I'm not sure if my teacher (like 30 years ago) told us wrong or if I simply remembered it wrong.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I think near water they became oil and far from water they became coal

[-] [email protected] 56 points 1 week ago

No, most coal comes from plants in swamps, because the water helped preserve the organic matter.

Plants in swamps die -> organic matter on the bottom of the swamp -> peat -> brown coal -> black coal.

Oil apparently comes mostly from plankton.

On the different origins: https://www.carboeurope.org/how-are-fossil-fuels-formed-the-science-behind-oil-coal-and-natural-gas/

[-] [email protected] 23 points 1 week ago

Oil was effectively plankton and other sea stuff.

Coal was forests.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Brother I finally found you.

We come from the same place you and me. Remember that barn?

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this post was submitted on 24 May 2025
1368 points (98.9% liked)

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