He studies potholes at the molecular level. His computer models show that ground water percolates up to the pavement and freezes beneath roads, forming a layer of ice.
Water continues to move from the warmer soil below to the colder area above.
When the water molecules contact the ice below the pavement, they freeze to the ice, causing it to thicken. As the ice thickens, it takes up more space, causing one of two problems. The ice can either push up through the pavement, causing immediate potholes, or it can compress the soil below. In the second instance, when warmer weather melts the ice, the pavement falls into the hole left behind. Directs program producing soil maps for all Indiana counties.