Sahar Mohammadi examining core sections

Energy Research Program

The Energy Research program investigates projects related to oil and gas exploration; carbon sequestration, utilization and storage; critical mineral exploration; and other future energy initiatives, such as hydrogen storage.

An accessible version of the documents on this site will be made available upon request. Please contact the KGS editor at kgs-editor@ku.edu to request the document be made available in an accessible format.




Critical Minerals

Critical minerals are non-fuel minerals and elements that are vital to electronics and other advanced technologies. These minerals are often obtained from overseas sources, including China and India, and are at high risk should supply lines be disrupted, as they were during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four well workers extracting a core sample for critical mineral testing.

Carbon Management

For two decades, the Kansas Geological Survey has been investigating the state's subsurface geology and industrial infrastructure to determine the safety and viability of injecting carbon dioxide from industrial sources into underground rock formations for long-term storage and to recover hard-to-reach oil.

Drill rig in the Patterson Field

Mining and Mineral Resources

Kansas has a long history of producing coal, rocks, and minerals of economic value.

Rolfe Mandel standing inside of the Hutchinson Salt Mines with a pick ax



Recent Publications

  • Open-File Report 2024-33 (pdf)

    Timing of Hydrothermal Fluid Flow in the Midcontinent Rift System, Washington County, Kansas, by Sahar Mohammadi, Andreas Möller, and Robert Goldstein.

  • Open-File Report 2022-2

    Lithostratigraphic Correlations of the Upper Desmoinesian and Missourian Stages (Pennsylvanian) in Eastern Kansas, by S. C. Oborny and F. Hasiuk

  • Open-File Report 2022-5 (pdf)

    Nomenclatural history of Upper Desmoinesian through Lower Virgilian (Pennsylvanian) strata in Kansas, by S. C. Oborny, F. Hasiuk, A. L. Layzell, and J. J. Smith

  • Open-File Report 2022-9

    Recalibration of the Zarah Subgroup (upper Pennsylvanian, Missourian Stage) of Eastern Kansas and its Impact on Regional Stratigraphic Nomenclature, by S. C. Oborny

  • Technical Series 24 (pdf)

    Midcontinent Carbonate Research Virtual Symposium Extended Abstracts Editors: Diana Ortega-Ariza, Ibukun Bode-Omoleye, Franek J. Hasiuk, Sahar Mohammadi, and Evan K. Franseen