Mountaintop Mining Elevation Data Available for Open Access Through API
Mountaintop mining alters landscapes by using explosives to blow apart ridge tops to expose the coal seams beneath, producing tons of rock that is of no value to coal companies. The areas where waste rock is blasted away are known as ridge cuts, and those where the waste rock is dumped are called valley fills. Our team at SkyTruth has mapped these areas in Central Appalachia using historic and modern elevation data. You can now explore the data yourself and access it for free through our API.
Meet Olivia Zhang, one of our geospatial interns behind this work!
As part of her internship at SkyTruth, Olivia performs elevation analysis to reveal the true impacts of mountaintop mining, works on our 30×30 Progress Tracker, managing the automatic monthly data sync for its conservation builder function, and has verified over 300 oil slicks for Cerulean, our ocean oil pollution monitoring tool. Meet Olivia.
What's New
Infrastructure source profiles available in Cerulean
Following the successful launch of source profiles for vessels, we’ve extended the feature to cover infrastructure to raise accountability for more chronic sources of oil slicks and see the full story of who is likely behind pollution.
In Cerulean, click on the ID card icon next to any potential infrastructure source to view a profile summarizing what we know about the platform. It includes detailed location information, structure name, and ownership data (where available), a count of how many slicks were produced by the structure, and more! Explore for yourself in Cerulean.
Custom layers in the 30×30 Progress Tracker
Are you looking to map a proposed MPA or add local layers, like endangered species corridors, to help visualize how new protected areas may strengthen conservation efforts? Now you can do so in the 30×30 Progress Tracker's Conservation Builder feature!
Users can upload or draw up to five custom layers, colors can be selected for the layers in the legend, and custom layers will be saved for future use within the same browser. Find full details, requirements, and guidance on filetypes in the panel on the Conservation Builder tab–try it out in the platform now!
Discussed harnessing data for environmental reporting at the Society for Environmental Journalists’ annual conference in Chicago
Took part in San Francisco Climate Week panels on the future of green jobs and the Ocean Intelligence Forum on how real-time ocean data is changing what’s possible for marine protection, enforcement, and accountability
Spoke on improving policies around chronic oil pollution and offshore methane monitoring at the Fossil Fuel Transition Conference in Santa Marta, Colombia
