Geology Commons^™

Joint Map Of Hardin County, Kentucky, Steven L. Martin, Emily Morris

Map and Chart--KGS

New field mapping of joints with previously published joint and fault locations. This fracture map can be used as a critical data source for hydrological, karst or geotechnical applications. Joint orientations were measured in 2009, 2022 and 2023, and are combined with joint and fault locations for Hardin County, Kentucky from 1:24,000-scale USGS geologic quadrangle maps that were published from 1962 to 1977. The geologic quadrangle maps for the county were digitized from 2002 to 2007.

The geology of Hardin County consists of Upper Devonian New Albany Shale overlain by Lower to Upper Mississippian-age sequences of limestone, dolomite, sandstone and …

Recurrence Interval Estimates For The July 2022 Eastern Kentucky Floods, North Fork Of The Kentucky River, William C. Haneberg

Open File Reports--KGS

July 2022 flood recurrence interval calculations for three gages along the North Fork of the Kentucky River—Whitesburg, Hazard, and Jackson, Kentucky—based upon both empirical distributions and theoretical log-Pearson Type III distributions yield a range of results from 851 years for the Whitesburg gage near the headwaters of the North Fork to about 2 years for the Hazard gage to 94 years for the Jackson gage. While the log-Pearson Type III approach worked well for the Whitesburg and Hazard gages, it produced an unrealistically low estimate for the Jackson gage because the empirical and theoretical curves diverge significantly for large floods …

Kentucky Karst Dye Trace Database, Sarah M. Arpin, Benjamin W. Tobin, Maaz Fareedi, Adam Link, James C. Currens

Research Data--KGS

This dataset provides the geographical locations of karst groundwater basins, groundwater flowpaths, and dye injection/recovery points in Kentucky. Dye tracing is a common method used for understanding groundwater movement. Dye is poured (or injected) into a sinking stream, well, sinkhole, or body of water, where it is carried down-gradient by flowing water. The locations at which dye is recovered (typically at artesian springs) indicates a connection from injection to recovery site. This connection is refered to as a groundwater flowpath. Conducting multiple dye traces across an area allows for the interpretation of regional groundwater flow by assessing where flowpaths either …

Kgs Joint Data, Steven L. Martin

Research Data--KGS

Joint orientation measurements collected by KGS personnel at rock exposures from 2009 to 2023. New joint data was collected using a Brunton compass. This data set is a compilation of joints measured by Steve Martin. There are three worksheets related to data structure. The joint location and joint measurement worksheets show a 1-to-many relationship. The 1to1 worksheet shows a 1-to-1 relationship between joint locations and measurements.

New Surficial Geologic Mapping In Kentucky (2021-2022), Matthew Massey, Antonia Bottoms, Max Hammond Iii, Ann Hislop, Meredith Swallom, Michele M. Mchugh

Research Data--KGS

New surficial geologic mapping was performed in nine new 7.5-minute quadrangles in Hardin, Meade, Breckinridge, Grayson, Hart, and Larue Counties, Kentucky.

Quadrangles include Big Clifty, Big Spring (Hardin county only), Custer (Hardin County only), Flaherty, Madrid (Hardin county only), Millerstown, Summit, Tonieville (Hardin county only), and Upton.

Mapping data for each of the nine quadrangles is captured in a ZIP file that contains an ESRI geodatabase and associated FGDC-compliant metadata files (.xml).

The geodatabase is a relational geodatabase of spatial and non-spatial data that conforms to "GeMS (Geologic Map Schema)--a standard format for digital publication of geologic maps", available at …

Dvgq Joint Data, Steven L. Martin

Research Data--KGS

A compilation of digitally vectorized joint data from the U.S. Geological Survey geologic quadrangle maps. Joint data was collected by USGS and KGS geologists using a compass during geologic mapping of the 7.5-minute quadrangle. Field notes of mappers are not available, therefore the orientation of joints was determined by a script written by KGS personnel during the digitization process.

Surficial Geologic Map Of The Summit 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Kentucky, Antonia E. Bottoms, Ann Hislop, Matthew A. Massey, Max Hammond Iii, Michelle Mchugh, Emily Morris

Report of Investigations--KGS

The Summit 7.5-minute quadrangle is located south of Louisville and west of Elizabethtown along the boundary between Hardin and Grayson Counties and within the Mississippian Plateau physiographic region (McDowell, 1986). Topography is characterized by the low relief Pennyroyal region that sits at elevations between 560 to 650 ft above sea level, the low relief Mammoth Cave plateau at elevations between 750 to 900 ft, and the steep Dripping Springs escarpment that separates the two plains. Moore (1964) mapped the bedrock geology of the quadrangle, which was later digitized by Conley (2002). Mississippian bedrock is exposed throughout the quadrangle and is …

Phase I Activities Of The Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth Mri) In The Western Kentucky Fluorspar District, Georgina Lukoczki, Craig Dietsch, John B. Hickman, Emily Morris, Douglas C. Curl, Carrie Pulliam, Stephanie Vicroy, William M. Andrews Jr.

Report of Investigations--KGS

The Western Kentucky Fluorspar District (WKFD), which comprises the Kentucky portion of the Illinois–Kentucky Fluorspar District, is well known for the occurrence of strategically important critical mineral resources, such as fluorite (fluorspar) and rare earth elements (REEs). Due to technological advances, demand has increased for critical minerals used in cell phones, magnets in wind turbines, batteries for electric vehicles, smart weapons, and other devices and systems. The overall objective of the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) program, directed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), is to gather information that will help better understand the distribution of critical minerals in …

Jillson, Willard Rouse, 1890-1975 (Mss 682), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 682. Writings and supporting materials of Willard Rouse Jillson, State Geologist of Kentucky, author and historian. Includes manuscripts, page proofs, photographic negatives, and promotional pamphlets for his books.

Surficial Geologic Map Of The Flaherty 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Kentucky, Ann Hislop, Matthew Massey, Maxwell L. Hammond Iii, Antonia E. Bottoms, Michele Mchugh, Emily Morris

Contract Reports--KGS

The Flaherty 7.5-minute quadrangle is located southwest of Louisville and northwest of Elizabethtown along the boundary between Hardin and Meade Counties. The quadrangle includes mostly the Pennyroyal region of the Mississippian Plateau and also smaller areas of the Mammoth Cave plateau and the highly dissected Dripping Springs escarpment in the western half of the map area (McDowell, 1986). Topography is mostly characterized by pervasive sinkhole development in a lower elevation and low-relief plain, and high-relief plateaus, ridges, and knobs of the Dripping Springs escarpment scattered along the west side of the quadrangle. Swadley (1963) mapped the bedrock geology of the …

Dye Tracing And The Effects Of Infrastructure In Hidden River Cave, Horse Cave, Ky, Alexa G. Franks

Master's Theses

Hidden River Cave is a stream cave system found in Horse Cave, KY with continuous water flow of its two branches, Wheet River and East River. The infrastructure of the city of Hose Cave, KY was originally designed to utilize natural sinkholes for drainage of all wastewaters. The city uses many of these, now modified, sinkholes for wastewater disposal and storm water drainage. Historically, Hidden River Cave has been severely impacted by unmonitored dumping of contamination. To better understand and identify specific flow paths from sinkholes and infrastructure into Hidden River Cave, this study documented various sinkholes and other infrastructure, …

Geochemistry, Petrology, And Palynology Of The Princess No. 3 Coal, Greenup County, Kentucky, Madison M. Hood, Cortland F. Eble, James C. Hower, Shifeng Dai

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty and Staff Publications

The high volatile C bituminous-rank, Bolsovian-age Princess No. 3 coal, a correlative of the heavily-mined Hazard No. 7 coal and the Peach Orchard and Coalburg Lower Split coals, was investigated three sites at a mine in Greenup County, Kentucky. The coal exhibits a “dulling upwards” trend, with decreasing vitrinite and a greater tendency towards dull clarain and bone lithotypes towards the top of the coal. The relatively vitrinite-rich basal lithotype is marked by a dominance of lycopod tree spores. The palynology transitions upwards to a middle parting co-dominated by tree fern and small lycopod spores and an upper bench dominated …

A Geologically Based Indoor-Radon Potential Map Of Kentucky, William C. Haneberg, Amanda T. Wiggins, Douglas C. Curl, Stephen F. Greb, William M. Andrews Jr., Kathy Rademacher, Mary Kay Rayens, Ellen J. Hahn

Faculty, Staff, and Affiliated Publications--KGS

We combined 71,930 short-term (median duration 4 days) home radon test results with 1:24,000-scale bedrock geologic map coverage of Kentucky to produce a statewide geologically based indoor-radon potential map. The test results were positively skewed with a mean of 266 Bq/m³, median of 122 Bq/m³, and 75th percentile of 289 Bq/m³. We identified 106 formations with ≥10 test results. Analysis of results from 20 predominantly monolithologic formations showed indoor-radon concentrations to be positively skewed on a formation-by-formation basis, with a proportional relationship between sample means and standard deviations. Limestone (median 170 Bq/m³) …

Rare Earth-Bearing Particles In Fly Ash Carbons: Examples From The Combustion Of Eastern Kentucky Coals, James C. Hower, John G. Groppo Jr.

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty and Staff Publications

Graphitic carbons from the combustion of bituminous coals and, perhaps, other coal ranks, tend to capture iron and a number of hazardous elements, including As, Hg, and Se. Rare earth elements in fly ashes occur in minerals, such as monazite, xenotime, and davidite. They also occur in sub-nm particles, probably in a mineral form, within the Al–Si glass on the investigated fly ashes. Just as graphitic carbons can capture Fe and hazardous elements, the carbons surrounding the fly ash glass and magnetic particles captures or encapsulates a broad suite of rare earth elements.

Mammoth Onyx Cave - Relating To (Sc 3504), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3504. Letter, 15 August 1922, of Charles A. Richardson, Assistant Geologist, Kentucky Geological Survey, to Dr. Harry B. Thomas, Horse Cave, Kentucky, regarding his recent study of the formations in Mammoth Onyx Cave, then owned by Thomas. He remarks on the “abundance of Mexican Onyx, or Onyx Marble” and the beauty of the stalactites and stalagmites. Includes a pamphlet by Leon Foster with his impressions of the cave, which was opened to the public in 1922.

Geologic Characterization, Hydrologic Monitoring, And Soil-Water Relationships For Landslides In Kentucky, Matthew M. Crawford, L. Sebastian Bryson, Zhenming Wang, Edward W. Woolery

Report of Investigations--KGS

Complex spatial and temporal variables control the movement of water through colluvial soils in hillslopes. Some of the factors that influence soil-moisture fluctuation are soil type, thickness, porosity and permeability, and slope morphology. Landslide-characterization and field-monitoring techniques were part of a method to connect hydrologic and geotechnical data in order to monitor long-term hydrologic conditions in three active landslides in Kentucky, establish hydrologic relationships across the slope, and analyze specific soil-water relationships that can predict shear strength. Volumetric water content, water potential, and electrical conductivity were measured between October 2015 and February 2019. The duration and magnitude of drying and …

Mineralogy And Chemistry Of Rare Earth Elements In Alkaline Ultramafic Rocks And Fluorite In The Western Kentucky Fluorspar District, Warren H. Anderson

Report of Investigations--KGS

Rare earth elements, or REE, are used in modern society in televisions, computers, cellphones, military equipment, and smart weapons systems. These metals are also used by the medical industry in magnetic resonance imaging and in medical products.

The igneous rocks in the Western Kentucky Fluorspar District of the New Madrid Rift System are considered alkaline ultramafic rocks that are slightly enriched in REE. These rocks are rare and only occur in several hundred locations in the world. They have a complex history of emplacement, fractionation, metasomatism, and alteration, and are overprinted with Mississippi Valley-type mineralization. They are classified as lamprophyres …

Using Watershed Pour-Point Elevations To Evaluate The Base Of Fresh Groundwater In The Cumberland Plateau Of Eastern Kentucky, Ethan S. L. Davis, Thomas M. Parris, Jerrad Grider

Report of Investigations--KGS

Horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing at shallow depths (less than 2,200 ft) in the Devonian Berea Sandstone oil and gas play, along with the potential for high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the nascent Cambrian Rogersville Shale gas play, have generated a renewed interest in protecting groundwater quality in eastern Kentucky. A critical component of protection is an accurate understanding of the distribution of fresh water in the subsurface. The “Fresh-Saline Water Interface Map of Kentucky” by H.T. Hopkins, published by the U.S. Geological Survey and Kentucky Geological Survey in 1966, has been a critical reference for assessing the maximum depth of …

Rethinking Karst Hazard Assessment In Kentucky, William P. Pierskalla Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Current karst hazard maps in Kentucky reflect the general lithology of the state and ignore or significantly reduce the impact of the actual sinkholes present within these areas. These maps rely on equal weighting, by area, of the Karst Potential Index (KPI) map and the sinkhole inventory map. The KPI is based on a 1:500,000 geologic map and less than 500 data points of carbonate rocks. The sinkhole inventory is derived from topographic maps updated in the 1970s with approximately 10-foot resolution. This method gives a preferential weighting of the KPI over the sinkhole data. Consequently, the current method is …

Ground Motions Induced By The March 11, 2018, Implosion Of The Capital Plaza Tower, Frankfort, Kentucky, N. Seth Carpenter, Michael J. Lynch, Brandon C. Nuttall, Zhenming Wang, Andrew S. Holcomb

Report of Investigations--KGS

The demolition by implosion of the Capital Plaza Tower in downtown Frankfort provided an opportunity to record seismic waves from a known source of seismic energy in order to observe local ground-motion amplification and resonance within the underlying unconsolidated sediment. The Kentucky Geological Survey deployed three strong-motion accelerographs at approximately equal distances around the tower to record ground motions induced by its collapse. The KGS instruments were installed at sites with different underlying geology: one on bedrock and two on Kentucky River Valley unconsolidated sediments.

Using images captured by a high-speed video camera, with timing synchronized with the clock of …

Surficial Geologic Map Of The Patriot 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Kentucky, Maxwell L. Hammond Iii, Antonia E. Bottoms, Steven L. Martin

Contract Reports--KGS

The Patriot 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in Boone, Gallatin, and Grant Counties of northern Kentucky in the Outer Bluegrass physiographic province (McFarlan, 1943). Broad to narrow ridges, steep hillsides, and the Ohio River Valley characterize the topography of the quadrangle. The Ohio River has been made navigable by a series of high-level dams, and the Markland Locks and Dam controls the river level in this area (Ray, 1974). The bedrock geology, originally mapped by Swadley (1969), consists, from oldest to youngest, of the Point Pleasant Formation, the Kope Formation, the Fairview Formation, the Bellevue Tongue of the Grant Lake Limestone, …

Zircon U-Pb Geochronology Of Two Basement Cores (Kentucky, Usa): Implications For Late Mesoproterozoic Sedimentation And Tectonics In The Eastern Midcontinent, David P. Moecher, J. Richard Bowersox, John B. Hickman

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Basement cores from two wells drilled west and east of the Grenville front consist of feldspathic litharenite and granitic orthogneiss, respectively. Detrital zircon U-Pb ages for the litharenite define a broad dominant U-Pb age mode at ca. 1115 Ma. The dominant mode matches that for the type locality of the Middle Run Formation in the Ohio subsurface and is interpreted to consist of detrital zircons sourced from East Continent Rift volcanic sources (ca. 1100 Ma) and Grenville Shawinigan granites/gneisses (1120–1180 Ma). The youngest detrital zircon ages (ca. 1020 Ma) require a maximum depositional age that is at least 70 My …

De Paepe, Duane - Collector (Mss 625), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 625. The Duane De Paepe Kentucky Cave Saltpetre History Research Collection, a collection of historical research, field notes, cave surveys, photographs, maps, reports, and scholarly writing on saltpetre mining in Kentucky, especially at Mammoth Cave. The collection was created under a research program sponsored by the Cave Research Foundation and the National Geographic Society in Kentucky, 1976-1980, and directed by De Paepe.

Faust, Burton Sherwood, 1898-1967 (Mss 620), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 620. Correspondence, research notes, drafts, photographs, reference works and bibliographic material of Burton S. Faust relating to his studies of the chemical, historical and cultural aspects of saltpetre and of spelean saltpetre mining in the United States.

Lithology And Depositional Environments Of A Portion Of The Clays Ferry Formation (Middle And Upper Ordovician) Exposed At Silver Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, Autumn Murray, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We measure, describe, and interpret a carbonate stratigraphic section within the Clays Ferry Formation (Middle and Upper Ordovician) cropping out in Madison County, Kentucky (USGS Kirksville 7.5” quadrangle). Outcrops are exposed within the bed of Silver Creek along Ky 876 (Barnes Mill Road) from ~100 m downstream of where a bridge crosses the stream, then upstream and upsection for a distance of ~300 m over several sets of falls until bedrock exposure becomes sporadic to absent. We sampled the stratigraphic section at approximately half-meter intervals, also taking samples at lithology changes. We collected a total 18 samples, all of which …

Lithology And Depositional Environments Of A Portion Of The Clays Ferry Formation (Middle And Upper Ordovician) Exposed At Silver Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, Autumn Murray

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We measure, describe, and interpret a carbonate stratigraphic section within the Clays Ferry Formation (Middle and Upper Ordovician) cropping out in Madison County, Kentucky (USGS Kirksville 7.5” quadrangle). The total thickness of the measured section is 4.76 m. We sampled the stratigraphic section at approximately half-meter intervals, also taking samples at lithology changes. We collected a total 20 samples, all of which were slabbed, and then selected 12 samples for thin section analysis.

Observed lithologies represent discrete depositional environments. The rocks are dominantly limestones with some carbonate shales deposited in shallow-water depositional environments that are generally open-marine, subtidal with perhaps …

Field Investigation Of An Active Landslide In Kentucky: A Framework To Correlate Electrical Data And Shear Strength, Matthew M. Crawford, L. Sebastian Bryson

Report of Investigations--KGS

Landslide hazard assessments are best accomplished by a multidisciplinary approach that connects geologic processes with geotechnical behavior. Tools to accomplish this in the field include geologic characterization, hydrologic monitoring, and geophysical surveys, and in the laboratory, soil-strength testing. Volumetric water content, soil-water potential (suction), local rainfall, and in situ electrical conductivity were measured at a shallow colluvial landslide in Kentucky. Surface electrical-resistivity surveys were also conducted to support interpretations of depth to failure, lithologic differences, and changes in moisture content over time. Correlations of hydrologic data with electrical measurements and shear strength indicate that observed changes in the degree of …

Relationships Between Surface And Ground Water Velocities Determined From Dye Trace Experiments In Mcconnell Springs And Preston's Cave Spring, Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky, Laura A. Norris, Cassie E. Simpson, Trent Garrison

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

In mature karst regions, water may flow through large subsurface conduits, expediting flow to surficial karst springs. In the fall of 2015, a dye trace was performed in the Middle Ordovician karst of Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky in order to measure ground water velocities. Other aspects of the study include (1) comparing these velocities to surface water velocities at discharge points (springs) and (2) comparing karst conduit velocities to granular velocities from previous studies in the region. The locations selected for study include (1) the “Campbell House Sinkhole," (2) McConnell Springs, and (3) Preston’s Cave Spring.

Isotopic Identification Of Multiple Contributors Of Metal Ions In Mississippi Valley-Type Ore Deposits Along The Cincinnati Arch In South-Central Kentucky, William Travis Garmon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) ores are economically-viable deposits of sulfide minerals, often dominated by sphalerite (zinc-sulfide) in carbonate facies, and galena (lead-sulfide) in siliciclastic facies. MVT ores precipitate from migrating fluids, which carry base metals often complexed with chlorine ions within a basinal brine. This study identifies metal-contributing source-regions of the Burkesville MVT deposit using Pb-isotope ratios within sphalerite samples collected from the Burkesville deposit. The deposit is found in south-central Kentucky within the Middle-Tennessee ore district along the crest of the Cincinnati Arch, which is the anticlinal divide between the Appalachian Basin and the Illinois Basin. Competing theories argue that …

Heavy-Oil And Bitumen Resources Of The Big Clifty Sandstone, Northeastern Grayson County And Adjacent Hardin County, Kentucky, J. Richard Bowersox

Report of Investigations--KGS

Rock asphalt (bitumen-saturated sandstone) was produced from the Big Clifty Sandstone near Tar Hill and Big Clifty in northeastern Grayson County, and at Summit in adjacent Hardin County, from 1889 to 1940. Noncommercial amounts of oil were distilled from Big Clifty rock asphalt before 1930. Resource assessments conducted throughout the area during the mid-1920's described substantial rock-asphalt deposits. Later assessments in 1951, 1965, and the early 1980's, however, overlooked the northeastern Grayson County area. A new evaluation in 2015 estimated that the historically developed area between Clifty Creek and meeting Creek, and between the Summit Fault and Eveleigh Fault Zone, …