Organic geochemical and vitrinite reflectance data supporting the thermal and structural reconstruction of an eroded foreland basin: central Appalachian Basin, USA

The Appalachian Basin is an archetypal foreland basin system. However, the timing, rates and magnitudes of orogenic loading, fold-thrust belt (FTB) exhumation, and foreland basin burial and exhumation are not well constrained. Here, we present vitrinite reflectance data, alongside organic geochemical screening analysis (programmed pyrolysis and total organic carbon) from a ~350 km transect through the Virginia-West Virginia FTB and foreland basin. These data aim to refine the thermo-tectonic conditions of the Appalachian foreland basin system, providing constraints for structural restorations and thermal modeling to support the reconstruction of the now-eroded Alleghanian foreland basin/FTB in the central Appalachian Mountains (West Virginia) and establish the burial and exhumational signatures of Paleozoic rocks. Our sample set includes 3 Pennsylvanian coal samples (AF24-CL1, AF24-CL2, AF24-CL3) and 3 Devonian marine shale samples (Millboro/Marcellus: AF24-SH1, AF24-SH2, AF24-CoreSHL).