KGS Research on Earthquakes
Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative
As part of the Midwest Regional Carbon Initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Steve Greb, Seth Carpenter, John Hickman, and Tom Sparks compiled Precambrian basement and fault data and crustal stress data from a large region from Arkansas to the southwest, north to the border with Canada, and to Maine in the northeast. The data will be used to investigate the potential for induced earthquakes from CO2 storage.
Seismicity at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
As a part of a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Kentucky Research Consortium for Energy and Environment, KGS continued to monitor earthquakes in the Jackson Purchase Region and conducted research on seismic hazards, ground-motion site response in particular, during the fiscal year. The fundamental site periods and peak amplifications for the Jackson Purchase Region were derived using 1-D linear analysis and the shear-wave velocity database accumulated at KGS. A report summarizing the monitoring and research was submitted in June 2020 to DOE through KRCEE. The ultimate goal is to develop a sound scientific basis for the seismic design parameters for buildings and facilities at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant as well as western Kentucky in general.
NASA-KY Space Project
Matt Crawford is a co-principal investigator for a NASA-KY Space Grant led by Lindsey Bryson of the University of Kentucky Department of Civil Engineering. The project is developing change detection models by combining historical satellite precipitation data for known landslides with a rainfall threshold model for landslide initiation. Remote-sensing technology will be used to assess long-term trends in stability for landslide-susceptible slopes. The project contributed to the landslide susceptibility development aspect of the FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant for Landslide Hazard and Mitigation in the Big Sandy Area Development District 2) FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant for Landslide Hazard and Mitigation in the Big Sandy Area Development District.