A GIS-ENHANCED USGS EDMAP STUDY OF THE LOWER KANSAS RIVER VALLEY

The USGS-sponsored educational mapping program (EDMAP) trains students in the science and art of geologic mapping as preparation for their entrance into geoscience careers. This poster presents new data from the fourth year of an EDMAP project focused on mapping surficial geology and terrace geomorphology, documenting stratigraphy from the fill beneath the river’s terraces, and developing a chronology of the depositional history of the Kansas River valley. Field methods consisted of sub-surface exploration through the use of hydraulic coring, backhoe-trenching and hand auguring. Soil and sediment analyses were conducted on each core, including laser-derived particle size, rock magnetics, carbon content, spectrophotometric color, stable isotope (C & N), and AMS 14C and luminescence dating. Three alluvial terraces occur within the seven quadrangles of the study area: Buck Creek, Newman, and Holliday Complex terraces. The Buck Creek, older than 15 ka, is characteristically clay-rich with a lower sandy unit and has an eroded surface and scarp. Noticeably different from the Buck Creek is the Newman, which is well-drained, relatively uneroded, and dates from c.12 ka. The Holliday Complex is located 2 m above the current floodplain, contains abandoned meander scrolls, and ranges in age from 1-4 ka. These terraces were originally mapped during the 1950s with no stratigraphic information. Mapping the location and extent of the terraces in the Kansas River valley has become more precise through the use GIS, especially, LiDAR, NAIP, and SSURGO data. The new mapping and stratigraphic documentation provides a valuable resource for other studies within the Kansas River valley, such as linking river change to climate forcing and land-use change, mapping of aggregate sources, refining archeological investigations, and improving soil mapping and reclassification.