129-61 Mayla Site: a Hydrogeologic Paleoperspective from Knox County, Kentucky

Abstract:

Flooding events and frequency of impactful flood events in Kentucky have increased substantially since 2022. Development of resiliency to flooding events requires that we develop the capacity to engineer the built environment to withstand worst-case scenario flooding conditions. These are, however, very poorly understood, in part because the record of Holocene rainfall patterns for Kentucky is lacking. As part of the CLIMBS (Climate Resilience through Multidisciplinary Big Data Learning, Prediction, and Building Response Systems) Project 2: Paleoperspectives program, we are developing a record of Holocene flooding events relative to past rainfall patterns and land-use changes, both of which are reconstructed using palynology. Knox County, Kentucky, located in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfields physiographic region in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth has been repeatedly rattled by flash flooding, which has become increasingly common since 2022. The Mayla site, located adjacent to Stinking Creek, a tributary of the Cumberland River, contains a record of sediment deposition and land use prior to and following arrival of European settlers. Multiple drive hydraulic push cores were collected in 2024, and sub-sampled at 5-cm intervals for palynology in 2025. Samples were processed using low-acid protocols and resulted in an assemblage of palynomorphs, including abundant fungi. Palynology results were used to reconstruct ancient ecosystems present as well as past rainfall regimes. Palynomorph preservation was variable, with pollen scarce in core 1B, and abundant in core 1. This highlights the need for use of multiple palynomorph proxies in interpreting past rainfall regimes and ecological conditions.

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