Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Heavy Metal Concentrations In Water And Surface Sediments Of Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky, Chad Von Gruenigen, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Heavy metal pollution remains problematic in natural waters, particularly for localities near plausible anthropogenic sources. We assayed the level of heavy metals in surface waters and within surface sediments of Wilgreen Lake, whose watershed drains industrial, urban, agricultural, and residential areas near Richmond, Kentucky. Water samples were treated according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protocols and digested with trace-metal-grade nitric and hydrochloric acids. Sediment samples were collected with a grab sampler and digested using established EPA procedures with hydrogen peroxide and trace-metal-grade nitric acid. Both water samples and sediment samples were sent to Activation Laboratories for analysis, and were measured …

Changing Depositional Environments In An Upper Ordovician Stratigraphic Sequence, Ashlock Formation, Madison County, Kentucky, Kevin G. Greff, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We investigate the sedimentology, stratigraphy, and depositional environments of a 7-meter, Upper Ordovician limestone sequence cropping out in Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky. The stratigraphic section lies within the Ashlock Formation with good lateral exposure stretching along 200 meters of a highway roadcut. We took approximately 20 samples from the measured section, focusing on representative samples and lithologic transitions. We use standard laboratory procedures in slabbing rock samples and making thin sections.

The Ashlock Formation here consists of alternating layers of limey mudstone and limestone (field units A through F). Megafossils - brachiopods, bryozoans, trilobites, gastropods, ostracodes, coralline algae, and bivalves …

Soil- And Groundwater-Quality Data For An Abandoned Cattle And Hog Feedlot In Henderson County, Kentucky, E. Glynn Beck, James S. Dinger, Eugenia Pena-Yewtukhiw, John H. Grove

Information Circular--KGS

Groundwater samples collected from a livestock well in southwestern Henderson County, Ky., contained nitrate-N concentrations greater than 20 mg/L, two times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant level. The well is located in an abandoned cattle and hog feedlot. The feedlot is located in an upland bedrock setting with Pleistocene loess overlying Pennsylvanian bedrock. One hundred twenty-one soil cores were collected to better define the areal extent of organic-rich soil believed to be the source of the elevated nitrate-N in the groundwater. Cores were collected on 25-ft centers to a depth of 4 ft below the land surface. Soil …

Assessment Of Row Crop, Alfalfa, And Pasture Field Practices On Groundwater Quality In An Upland Bedrock Setting, Henderson County, Kentucky: Report Of Soil- And Water-Quality Data, E. Glynn Beck, James S. Dinger, John H. Grove, Eugenia Pena-Yewtukhiw

Information Circular--KGS

An assessment of how present agricultural practices have influenced shallow groundwater and soil quality was conducted on a 540-acre farm in north-central Henderson County. Groundwater- and soil-quality data were collected from row crop (corn and soybean), alfalfa, and pasture fields. In addition to the field settings, groundwater and soil data were collected from the existing farmyard and an abandoned feedlot. Groundwater samples were analyzed for pH, specific conductance, temperature, oxidation-reduction potential, metals, anions, nutrients, herbicides, and various isotopes. Soil samples were analyzed for pH, bioavailable phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, organic matter, total nitrogen, and inorganic nitrogen (nitrate-N). Soil- and …

Assessment Of Groundwater Quality In An Abandoned Feedlot, Henderson County, Kentucky: Data Report, E. Glynn Beck, James S. Dinger, John Grove, Eugenia Pena-Yewtukhiw

Information Circular--KGS

A three-phase project investigated the influence of past and present agricultural practices on groundwater resources in the Western Kentucky Coal Field. Phase II concentrated on past practices, specifically those associated with an abandoned dairy feedlot and an old homestead. Results of phase II analyses are presented in this report.

Sources And Occurrences Of Nonpoint-Source Chemicals In Groundwater, Jackson Purchase Region, Kentucky: Data Report, E. Glynn Beck

Information Circular--KGS

Groundwater from the Jackson Purchase Region was sampled to investigate possible contamination by nonpoint-source chemicals. Conclusions drawn from the resulting data and methodology can be found in “Sources and Occurrences of Nonpoint-Source Chemicals in Groundwater, Jackson Purchase Region, Kentucky,” Kentucky Geological Survey Report of Investigations 22 (series 12), by R.S. Fisher and E.G. Beck.

Evaluation Of Geologic Co2 Sequestration Potential And Co2 Enhanced Oil Recovery In Kentucky, Thomas M. Parris, Stephen F. Greb, Brandon C. Nuttall

Report of Investigations--KGS

Kentucky gets approximately 95 percent of its electricity from coal-fired power plants, which produce significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂). In 2005, Kentucky coal-fired plants vented 102.8 million short tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere. The economic vitality of the state will be affected by its ability to develop and apply a portfolio of technologies that will mitigate input of CO₂ into the atmosphere. One technology that has the potential to assist in this challenge is geologic carbon storage, which captures CO₂ at point sources and injects it into deep rock strata that can store …