RAPID: Geomorphologically contextualized flood deposit sampling and mapping of toxic hazards: insights from the catastrophic July 2022 floods in eastern Kentucky

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

The catastrophic and deadly floods affecting eastern Kentucky during the last few days of July 2022 provide an unprecedented opportunity to understand within a geologic context the distribution of potentially harmful contaminants in recent flood deposits in a way that will help inform future public health assessments and interventions in public health, geology, and climate science. With a multidisciplinary team bringing together expertise in geomorphology, sedimentology, geohealth, epidemiology, and toxicology, the researchers will perform a rapid evaluation of flood deposit geomorphology and toxicity in the wake of an unprecedented flood event in eastern Kentucky. The research goals are to measure the extent, morphology, and stratigraphy of mappable flood deposits within key selected drainages affected by the July 2022 floods in eastern Kentucky, and to measure the distribution and timing of metals, organics, and other contaminants with public health implications within the newly deposited sediments. The team will use geomorphological mapping, UAV-based lidar microtopographic surveys, digital terrain modeling, and both field- and lab-based geochemical sampling to begin understanding the geologic and hydrologic controls on contaminant distribution of the flood deposits. In addition to identifying the instantaneous spatial variability of recent flood deposit geochemistry, the research will form the foundation for future long-term studies of flood sediment deposition, contaminant migration and fate. It will also inform on how steep mountain landscapes respond to catastrophic flooding events. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.