The KGS is working with faculty and students in The University of Kansas geology department and the Kansas Department of Transportation to develop methods that allow for better selection of quarry locations and rock layers to be used for class 1 aggregate production. Using new geologic techniques, the KGS is working to develop a better understanding of the way these rock layers were deposited. The KGS has studied a number of quarries where aggregate is mined and has prepared a report on methods for identifying high-quality aggregate. This project is partially funded by the Kansas Department of Transportation. KGS researchers are applying these methods to all areas of geology and related sciences, including the development of software and the promotion of the use of quantitative methodologies.
Landslides are a geologic hazard that occasionally occurs in Kansas.
In parts of the state where topographic relief is greatest, especially in central and eastern Kansas, landslides can occur when underlying shales become saturated with water, as they did in wet years such as 1993. Overlying soils then slip downslope and are a particular problem in areas of housing or where other construction has occurred. The KGS is mapping areas that are particularly susceptible to such landslides and providing information about mitigation of such problems.