The Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) received a $182,961 grant from the U.S. Geological Survey to advance geological understanding and hazard preparedness for Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati.
The project will produce landslide inventory maps and landslide susceptibility maps for the region that will benefit city planners, local governments and landowners.
"There is currently no published landslide inventory for the city of Cincinnati and only an incomplete landslide inventory for Northern Kentucky, despite this area suffering from some of the costliest economic damage from landslides in the nation," said Sarah Johnson, Ph.D., an assistant research professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the UK College of Arts and Sciences and KGS affiliate, who serves as principal investigator (PI) for the project.
Jason Dortch, Ph.D., a KGS geologist and associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, is co-PI. Collaborators include the University of Cincinnati's Dan Sturmer, Ph.D., and Dylan Ward, Ph.D., and Temple University's Yichuan Zhu, Ph.D.
The project will build on recent landslide inventory and susceptibility mapping at KGS used for other regions in Kentucky. The mapping utilizes Light Detection and Ranging (lidar), a laser scanning-based technology used to create high-resolution models of ground elevation. The team will use two lidar surveys in Ohio (2007 and '22) and three lidar surveys in Kentucky (2007, '12, '22) to identify landform changes over time.
In addition to their scientific interest in this work, both Johnson and Dortch have personal connections to the region. Johnson grew up in Cincinnati and returned there to work as an engineering geologist after completing her master's at Purdue. She later taught geology at Northern Kentucky University for 21 years before joining the UK faculty. Dortch completed both his master's (2006) and his Ph.D. (2010) at the University of Cincinnati Department of Geosciences.
This project was funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, Grant No. G25AP00237.
