News Archives
Browse our news archives by year to explore past announcements, research updates, and events.
Recent Articles by Year
UK landslide research expands to Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati
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.
CLIMBS Researchers Go Global in Finding Hazard Solutions through NSF’s CLaSH Initiative
Geologic hazards are complicated, connected, and continuous. While extreme precipitation events can cause catastrophic flooding, the intense precipitation can also induce widespread landslide activity. The landslide deposits can block small streams or send pulses of materials into rivers, exacerbating the destructiveness of the flood by changing the nature of the flow and providing larger debris that can impact infrastructure. Similarly, wildfire burns vegetation, making hillslopes more susceptible to landsliding during intense precipitation. The positive feedback between one hazard exacerbating the severity of another hazard is referred to as a hazard cascade. Understanding hazard cascades and their impacts on infrastructure and people is difficult, and exactly the type of challenge addressed through the National Science Foundation’s new CLaSH – Center for Land Surface Hazards (CLaSH). Kentucky researchers are playing a key role.
2025 Kentucky Geological Survey Geoscience Open House
On Tuesday October 28, 2025, 6-7:30 p.m., the Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) will host its 25th annual Open House, inviting students, families, teachers, and earth-science enthusiasts to explore the many wonders of Kentucky’s geology. This long-running tradition offers a hands-on, engaging experience with the natural forces and materials that shape Kentucky.
2026 Kentucky Geological Survey Geoscience Open House
The Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) is hosting its 26th annual geoscience open house on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m., inviting students, families, teachers, and earth-science enthusiasts to explore the many wonders of Kentucky’s geology.
Small Paducah-area earthquake on August 19
Dr. Seth Carpenter, with the Kentucky Geological Survey, said the 2.3 magnitude quake happened late last night near the edge of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, a region that regularly produces small tremors.
Digging into Kentucky’s critical mineral potential: major rock core donation from Western Kentucky Fluorspar District
KGS has received a generous donation of 9,930 feet of rock cores from the Western Kentucky Fluorspar District. The collection was donated by longtime driller William “Buddy” Davidson and geologist Walt Gaylord and has now been entrusted to KGS for long-term preservation and future research.